Sixty percent of coffee seedlings distributed in Agago District have survived nearly four months of dry weather, defying earlier fears of total crop loss.
About six in every 10 coffee seedlings distributed to farmers in drought-hit Agago District have survived, despite nearly four months of dry weather that threatened the new coffee crop. The survival rate comes after intense sunshine killed many of the 290,000 seedlings distributed, with some farmers struggling to keep the young plants alive. Nicholas Okino, the regional coffee extension coordinator at the Ministry of Agriculture, stated that recent monitoring visits showed reports of entire crop loss were inaccurate, with an average of 60 percent surviving.
Survival rates varied significantly based on garden preparation and seedling management during the drought. Some farmers kept seedlings under trees, while others planted them before the dry spell intensified. Okino attributed better survival in some gardens to proper preparation, including digging planting holes in advance and caring for seedlings during the dry spell. He urged farmers to prepare gardens before collecting seedlings for next year.
The survival of thousands of seedlings offers a rare positive development in a district badly affected by the prolonged dry spell, which destroyed food crops and affected livestock. District Chairperson Wilson Otto highlighted the vulnerability of farmers dependent on rainfall and called for investment in irrigation systems to allow continuous food and livestock feed production during dry periods.
Why it mattersFarmers in Agago District are affected by the survival rate of coffee seedlings, which impacts their potential income and recovery from drought.
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