Farmers shift to cocoa growing in busoga

8 June 2026, 11:11 am

farmers group receiving Cocoa seedlings from the distributors

Ali Lukomo

Farming in busoga subregion is changing the triste as farmers switch to Cocoa growing than sugarcane after realizing it’s benefits and positive impact on environment. Gonna the days Cocoa was one of the cash crops grown in other countries like Ghana and others but in Uganda it was on smaller quantities but of now due to the information spread by Busoga kingdom . Now the government through ministry of Agriculture and animal husbandry are giving out cocoa seedlings to the community through those groups who are organized.

According to farmers experts cocoa grows faster and can also protect the environmental because it can grow under the trees and when it’s still at the early stages a farmer can do mixed farming where by different crops can be planted which easily mentains solid productivity. No single tree is need Ed to be cutdown instead a farmer need to plant more because the cocoa plants grows well under. shades.

Mr kintu Muhammad a farmer from Luuka district said he is having over four hectares of cocoa plantation and expecting to harvest more than other cash crops.he called upon Busoga community to copy from him and is ready to provide skills and seedlings to the community so that they can grow together and harvest together. It has been for so Long when busoga is having it’s main cash crops of coffee and sugarcane but it’s counted among the poorest regions in Uganda. Busoga subregion is found in eastern Uganda consisting of Eleven districts that’s today kamuli, buyende,luuka, Iganga,mayuge,Jinja, Kaliro,bugiri, bugweri and Namutumba but sugarcane have been taking the lion’s share in as far as cash crops is concerned.

On environment part of it cocoa and coffee is the best altanative in all cash crops grown in Busoga because they take long to grow but on maturity it also have good leaves which makes soils okay with manure and provide shades again to the green cover on top of taking the world market.