A delegation led by the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Frank Tumwebaze, and the Ministry Permanent Secretary, Maj. Gen. (Rtd) David Kasura-Kyomukama, is in Vietnam for a three-day business summit.

In addition, the delegation is following up and reviewing the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in November 2022, as well as the bilateral discussions and commitments made during President Museveni’s state visit to Vietnam. The President was accompanied by Ministers, including Tumwebaze, who was Minister for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries.

The discussion focused mainly on how to increase coffee production and productivity. The coffee-growing profile of Vietnam is more or less the same as that of Uganda, with Robusta coffee dominating at over 80 per cent and Arabica coffee at below 20 per cent.  

The difference is in productivity. Vietnam harvests, on average, 3.5 tonnes per hectare compared to ours of about one 1 tonne or less per hectare. We shall be discussing more in detail, including measures and appropriate technologies for productivity enhancement.