Uganda has firmly established itself as Africa's leading coffee exporter, an achievement that is no accident. According to industry leaders like Rogers Siima, the managing director at DSR Abro Enterprises, this success is the direct result of strategic interventions, which have now matured into a production boom. In his conversation with Pan-African Frequency, he emphasized that the Ugandan government continues to empower local farmers, shifting the focus to value and quality beyond volume.
“It's not by surprise that you're seeing coffee production jump up, export figures go up in Uganda, but this is a protracted whole that was started by the government some years ago. The government promoted coffee growing through different programs that they have been running under the Minister of Agriculture [...] Currently, we are very proud that we are the largest exporter[...] The government target says by 2030, we should be able to produce 20 million bags. The whole intention is really to do more in export as well. But nevertheless, there's that thinking that we can earn more when we add value from the base [....] There are also interventions that are done deliberately by the government through the coffee department, like encouraging, like giving out fertilizers - issuing out fertilizers to farmers. This has been done through different government programs at the local government level,” Siima pointed out.
Simultaneously, Ethiopia is executing a strategic shift in its mining sector. At the MINTEX Ethiopia 2025 expo, His Excellency Habtamu Tegegn, Ethiopia's Minister of Mines, interacted with Sputnik Africa and outlined a vision to make the mining sector a central pillar of Ethiopia’s economy. He also noted that being a member of BRICS, Ethiopia is strategically positioning itself to leverage this alliance as a major market, turning its mineral wealth into a tool of global economic diplomacy.
"This is a big country with a huge population. We have a domestic market, and we can also have leverage to export it to the region. So, I think the first priority is to sustain ourselves in the most important strategic resources and then to export it as we have that surplus of resources. So, we expect to be one of the global hubs of African countries, to be the best mining destination [...] Ethiopia is a BRICS member. So, there is a huge market, there is a huge demand for Ethiopian minerals,” the minister indicated.
Tune in to listen to the full conversation with our guests on the Pan African Frequency podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.
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