The Agroforestry Paradox – Climate Clever Coffee (APCCO) project has officially kicked off with a high-level inception workshop and field reconnaissance, bringing together researchers, students, entrepreneurs, and stakeholders in Uganda’s coffee sector. The event, held from October 10th to 12th at Forest Cottages in Bukoto, followed by field visits on October 13th and 14th, marked the formal launch of a groundbreaking research and innovation initiative aimed at transforming Uganda’s coffee agroforestry systems.
Funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and administered through the Danida Fellowship Centre, APCCO aims to explore the paradox of underutilized agroforestry practices in coffee production despite their widely acknowledged environmental benefits. The project places a special focus on Robusta coffee, Uganda’s most commercially significant yet under-researched coffee variety, and promotes climate-smart farming systems that combine productivity with sustainability.
The inception meeting provided a platform for introducing the project’s four core work packages, outlining key activities, deliverables, and interdisciplinary collaborations. Participants—ranging from PhD students and academic researchers to entrepreneurs and institutional partners—engaged in discussions around project administration, budgeting, student welfare, and implementation strategies.
“This is not just the start of a project,” said one of the project leads. “It is the beginning of a collaborative journey to co-create knowledge and digital tools that will support smallholder coffee farmers and promote sustainable agroforestry practices.”
The APCCO project brings together a consortium of esteemed partners, including Makerere University (Uganda), the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), NaCORI, CURAD, MuZARDI, GrowGrounds, NewForesight, and Regen Farmer. One of the project’s innovative approaches is the development of digital farm simulators (“digital twins”) to model agroforestry scenarios tailored to local conditions, enabling evidence-based improvements in both farming practices and farmer livelihoods.
The workshop also highlighted the selection of four PhD candidates—one female and three male—following a competitive application process that drew 58 applicants. These doctoral fellows will anchor their research in one of the four key project themes, contributing to data generation and real-world impact.
The inception activities culminated in a two-day field reconnaissance to key partner sites in Mukono District, including the CURAD agribusiness incubator, the National Coffee Research Institute (NaCORI), local coffee farms, and a coffee milling factory. These visits provided vital insights into Uganda’s coffee value chain, research landscape, and on-farm agroforestry practices.
The workshop successfully laid the groundwork for a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to research, innovation, and capacity-building in the coffee agroforestry sector. With strong institutional support and enthusiastic stakeholder participation, APCCO is poised to make a lasting impact on Uganda’s climate-smart coffee farming future.
