In order to prevent coffee crops from being stolen again, Charles Waliggo cannot sleep well every day and has to patrol his one and a third-acre land in the middle of the night. As coffee prices surge, Ugandan fruit farmers have been trying everything in their power to fend off the increasingly rampant thieves, including using guard dogs and even keeping bees.
According to Bloomberg, thieves in Uganda can even steal unripe coffee beans directly from trees under the cover of darkness. As coffee prices soar, incidents of theft have become more severe. Two agricultural associations in the country have pointed out that the number of coffee theft cases this year has reached an unprecedented level.
Amid inflation and a drought in major coffee-producing countries like Vietnam, coupled with strong demand squeezing global supplies, coffee has become increasingly popular, resulting in a significant price hike.
According to data from the Uganda Coffee Development Authority, robusta coffee, highly favored in the instant beverage industry, has reached its highest global price level since the 1970s this year. The farm delivery price of shelled robusta coffee – Kiboko – has increased by 65%, reaching a record-breaking 7,000 shillings per kilogram ($1.89).
Uganda is the second-largest coffee producer in Africa, second only to Ethiopia, and also the largest coffee exporter in Africa. Coffee beans are the country’s main export commodity.
According to Tony Mugoya, Executive Director of the Uganda Coffee Farmers Alliance (UCFA), with coffee prices so high, on par with other commodities like cocoa and vanilla, it has become a significant target for theft.
The government has not released statistics on coffee theft, but the Central Ugandan Coffee Farmers Association (CECOFA) and UCFA have indicated that the crime rate is much higher than in previous years.
Waliggo’s coffee plantation has been repeatedly targeted by thieves. During the recent harvest season, he woke up every night to inspect his coffee crops in Mayirikiti. Local government official Ibra Ssemanda mentioned that during this period, roughly a dozen fruit farmers in the village became targets of theft.
Buule, also a coffee farmer from CECOFA, had to hire 10 guards to patrol his two plantations covering over 40 acres during the harvest season.
Some Ugandan coffee farmers suspect that many thefts are often carried out by local youth, who then sell the stolen coffee beans in the supply chain. These thieves sometimes damage trees in the process of stealing, not only affecting the farmers’ income but also threatening the country’s efforts to increase production in the coming years.
In recent years, the government has distributed millions of free seedlings to help expand production to 20 million bags by 2030. According to estimates from the US government, current production is less than 7 million bags.
CECOFA suggests that coffee farmers invest in building fences, hiring security guards, using guard dogs, and keeping bees to combat crime. More and more farmers are starting to keep bees, which not only assists in pollination but also deters thieves who are afraid of being attacked by bees.
In recent years, rising prices and the cost-of-living crisis have sparked a series of food theft incidents, from African cocoa beans, Spanish olives, to ham and donuts, which have all become targets for thieves.
According to the British Standards Institution, food and beverages account for over one-fifth of all stolen products globally, up from 17% in 2022.
According to a report by Reuters in December 2023, due to rising prices during the poor harvest period, olives have become a target for thieves. Greek farmer Panagiotis Tsafaras has to patrol his orchard twice a day to prevent unscrupulous thieves from targeting his crops.
The Greek olive variety, known as “extra virgin” olives, is highly sought after for its high quality.
Tsafaras’ olive grove has been targeted by thieves twice. Last November, thieves stole over a ton of olives from him.