Since 2023, AESA has been a key partner in the EU-funded “Technical Assistance to Support Coffee and Cocoa Value Chains Development (CoCoDev)” project in Uganda, driving sustainable growth in both coffee and cocoa sectors.

Key Achievements:

• Active member of the Uganda National Coffee Platform, supporting initiatives including Uganda’s response to EUDR/CS3D compliance.
• Matching Grant Scheme: 164 grants awarded covering nearly 4,000 acres (3,500a coffee, 500a cocoa) with reimbursable grants linked to verified planting and sustainable management. All grantees received practical training in crop agronomy, good agricultural practices, and farm management documentation.
• Developed Cocoa Production Manual, Cocoa Nursery Manual, and Cocoa Mapping Study.
• Supported National Coffee Research Institute (NaCORI) to increase quality planting material availability and expand coffee varieties adapted to different regions.
• Assessed sustainable certification options, developed training guidelines, and trained 150 government and private-sector extension agents.
• Conducted cocoa post-harvest and quality assessments, developed profiling tools, and trained 40 quality assurance officers.
• Promoted domestic coffee consumption through surveys, low-end vending outlet assessments, and strategic trade shows/events.

Technical Assistance Team Contributions:

• Full-time support by Chief Technical Advisor & Key Expert 2 within the Programme Management Unit, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry, and Fisheries.
• Short-term experts covering: language translation, farm management, sustainable certification, cocoa quality and production, post-harvest handling, coffee profiling, and development of quality and barista skills manuals.

Impact: AESA’s technical assistance has strengthened Uganda’s coffee and cocoa value chains, improved farmer skills, boosted productivity, and promoted sustainable sector growth aligned with international standards.