one year with coffee farming households

What: Farm Diary - Collecting coffee farm data of 71 households
Where: Kalungu and Ibanda districts, Uganda.
When: Feb 2023 – March 2024

data collection for informed decision-making

Our partner Athari Lulu Consults Ltd (ALC) collected farm diary data from 71 coffee-growing households over a period of 12 months. The study was conducted in Ibanda and Kalungu districts in Western and Central Uganda.

ALC is a consultancy firm that specializes in fulfilling data needs for project design, monitoring and evaluation. ALC offers its assistance in areas such as agriculture, livelihoods and related sectors.

The project’s overarching objective was to gather primary information on typical day-to-day activities on the smallholder coffee farms. This would provide a general understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by smallholder coffee farmers in Uganda, specifically in the target regions. Ultimately, the information would serve to improve coffee program design and refine intervention strategies to support smallholder farmers’ livelihoods.

The data collection delved into the key aspects of smallholder production:

  • The various sources of income and their significance for coffee farmers.
  • Cash flow patterns, required labor and labor shortages within coffee farming.
  • Decision-making processes behind selecting income-generating activities among farmers.
  • The specific costs and challenges associated with coffee production and sales.
  • The mechanisms used by farmers for savings and loans.

Based on the results, program design implications were derived to alleviate financial constraints and meet the needs of coffee farmers effectively.
Through this initiative we gathered essential insights to develop targeted strategies to empower smallholder coffee farmers.

The study is publicly available: Download the final report.