Drought-Resistant Wild Robusta Discovered in Uganda - Major Breakthrough for Developing Drought-Tolerant Coffee Varieties

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Recently, coffee variety research scholars from Uganda, the Netherlands, and France have discovered previously unknown wild Robusta coffee populations with potential drought resistance capabilities in Uganda's endangered forests. This discovery will help cultivate drought-resistant coffee varieties in the future and contribute to the development of the coffee industry. Since coffee is an important export product for Uganda, this discovery also emphasizes the necessity of tropical rainforests, further preventing local illegal deforestation and incentivizing government protection of tropical rainforests.

This research spanned five years from 2014-2019. The study, conducted by scholar Catherine Kiwuka during her doctoral studies at Wageningen University, comparatively analyzed the drought tolerance of wild Robusta samples she collected with previously unknown coffee genotypes, revealing the drought resistance capabilities of certain coffee populations.

Professor Niels Anten from Crop and Weed Ecology at Wageningen University stated: "[Drought-resistant varieties] can be used in breeding programs and hybridized with existing varieties." Currently, many coffee varieties are cultivated for disease resistance. Therefore, by hybridizing the new wild Robusta discovered by Catherine with existing coffee varieties, it's possible to cultivate coffee varieties that are both disease-resistant and drought-tolerant.

The wild Robusta was discovered in the severely deforested Zoka Forest in northern Uganda. Due to excessive deforestation, Zoka Forest now covers only about 10 square kilometers. Professor Niels Anten stated: "Current agricultural land is continuously threatening the existence of the forest."

Among the research varieties studied by Catherine Kiwuka, other samples from the southern region are facing extinction as they become increasingly genetically mixed with commonly cultivated varieties. This highlights the critical need for large forest areas to better protect the key genetic information in wild coffee populations.

Increasing the drought resistance of existing coffee varieties will benefit millions of Ugandan coffee growers who lack funds to install irrigation systems to cope with Uganda's drought conditions. Professor Niels Anten added that while drought-resistant crops may help improve the quality of life for Ugandan farmers, this is only part of the improvement. In addition to enhancing coffee's drought resistance capabilities, growers need more education on cultivation techniques, agroforestry practices, and increased opportunities to bring coffee directly to market, reducing middleman price differences and thereby increasing income for all growers.

Although the international market generally considers Robusta coffee to be of lower quality than Arabica coffee, Ugandan Robusta coffee is considered an exception. Robusta coffee beans are the main source of agricultural income in Uganda. According to data from the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) report published in December 2020, Ugandan Robusta coffee exports accounted for more than 70% of Uganda's total coffee exports in 2020. The Ugandan government previously announced that within the next 10 years, Uganda's coffee exports will increase by at least 20 million bags (60kg per bag) annually.

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