Kabushenga Embarks on European Mission to Secure Uganda’s Coffee Future
Senior Comrade Robert Kabushenga has embarked on a critical ten-day mission across Europe, aiming to safeguard and grow Uganda’s coffee exports in the face of evolving global trade dynamics. The journey underscores a broader, often misunderstood, definition of “value addition” that encompasses the entire coffee ecosystem.
The mission commenced with a departure from Kenya for Geneva, Switzerland. Kabushenga stated the primary objective is to understand changing international trade rules and their potential impact on Uganda’s ability to sell coffee globally. In Geneva, his team will engage with the International Trade Centre (@ITCnews), facilitated by the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office through its UK Trade Partnerships programme and the British High Commission in Uganda (@UKinUganda).
Beyond policy discussions, the itinerary includes visits to coffee roasters to better understand the final consumer, followed by participation in the Madrid Coffee Festival. There, the team will market and sell Ugandan coffee directly—a task Kabushenga describes as doing business “the hard way.”
Reflecting on his stay in Nairobi before departure, Kabushenga was struck by a historical display at his hotel depicting Kenya’s coffee farming journey. This inspired him to address a persistent misconception about the coffee value chain.
“Most times when people engage me about coffee, they always ask why I don’t do or when I will do VALUE ADDITION,” Kabushenga explained, referring to the narrow view that equates value addition solely with secondary processing for ready-to-drink products. He emphasises that the entire journey from “farm to cup is value addition.”
He elaborated that value creation begins long before the farm, in laboratories where scientists develop ideal cultivars. It continues with farmers applying effective agronomy, followed by aggregation, primary processing, and logistics to make the coffee market-ready. The chain extends to traders, exporters, financiers, marketers, and even baristas.
“This is the totality of value addition. Not the narrow one that presents secondary processing as the only value addition,” he stated.
Kabushenga positioned his current European roadshow as a vital component of this expansive value chain. He framed the mission as both a matter of national pride and economic necessity. Coffee supports the livelihoods of over 12 million Ugandans, from bankers and government officials to farm labourers and freight handlers.
“It is therefore a matter of patriotism that this economic activity that sustains us is well managed,” he asserted. “We play our part as farmers, traders, exporters to come out here and find markets. It is the way we guarantee this income stream for the country.”
The team aims to learn from the market, promote the unique attributes of Ugandan coffee, and ultimately return with purchase orders.
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