Uganda certifies two new Q Graders

Uganda now has two new Q Arabica Graders, Naume Komuhangi and Brenda Mangeni, thanks to the opening course in early 2018 by Utake Coffee at Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) sanctioned Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) lab in Kampala. Komuhangi and Mangeni are coincidentally also international Q Robusta graders, among the approximately 200 that exist in the world. They are the only two out of 16 students who excelled on the first attempt to join the international pool of Q Arabica graders. The UCDA is working Utake Coffee on the effective incorporation of the youth of Uganda through training and certification. In a statement, Utake Coffee said it believed that this would see the coffee sector thrive through the transformative initiatives it has put in place, and in line with the vision of attaining a production volume of 20 million bags by 2025. Uganda is currently the 8th largest producer of coffee in the world, exporting an average of 4.6 million bags, with Robusta constituting 80 per cent and Arabica 20 per cent. Coffee contributes 30 per cent of Uganda’s total earnings. Utake Coffee specialises in Coffee Quality Training, Marketing, Research Consultancy and Development Management. It is based out of East Africa, but travels around the world delivering world-class services and participating in strategic development agenda for the region.