The Coffee yearbook 2014/15
The Coffee yearbook 2014/15
UgandaCoffeeFederation
UgandaCoffeeFederation
52
53
EnergySourcesand their
linkage toCoffee
Statistics from thegender
mainstreaming inRural Electrification
Projectfinal report, 20111 indicated
thatonly7%of theUgandan
populationaccesselectricityand rural
access isestimated tobebetween
2-5%.This indicates thatmajorityof
coffeeproducers relyonwood fuel
asa sourceof energy for cooking
andkerosene for lighting.Thishasa
negativeeffecton theenvironment
andconsequently sustainability.This
system isalso timeconsuming, human
energy intensiveandhighly inefficient.
Useof low savingandenergy saving
technologiesbecomesextremely
important.
Although theUgandangovernment
has investedheavily in theenergy
sector asa requisite ingredient to
transform thecountry toamiddle
incomecountryby theyear 2040
through increasedelectricity
generationcapacity inUganda
(increased from595MW in2011 to
851.53MW in2014, including100MW
of thermal power), electricityaccess
by rural households still remains low
asmentionedabove. It isevenworse
forwomenheaded rural households
wherecoffee isgrownandprocessed!!
Even thewell-intendedRural
ElectrificationProgramme (REP),with
a total of 1568kmsofMediumVoltage
linesand688kmsof LargeVoltage
lines completedandcommissioned in
FY2014/15consistingof 46,000new
connectionson thegridand1,968new
solarphotoVoltaic (PV) connections, it
isnot certainhowmanybeneficiaries
1
GenderMainstreaming
inRural ElectrificationProject in
Uganda-Final Report, 2011
areconnected towomenheaded
householdsandmore so ruralwomen
headedhouseholdswherecoffee is
grownandprocessed.On theother
hand,wemaybe tempted toask;while
formulating theRural Electrification
Agency (REA),werebothmenand
womenconsulted?Were some
households relocated? If so,were
theycompensated?To thosewho
benefitted,werewomenconsidered in
thecompensationpackage?
Government isalso investing in the
necessary infrastructure to facilitate
theexploitationof theabundant
renewableenergy sources including
hydropower, geothermal, and
nuclear, soas to increasepower
generationcapacity to2,500MW
in2020.Government is targeting
to increaseper capitaelectricity;
consumption to588kWhby2020and
3,668kWhby2040. Although this
will address theenergyconstraints in
order to lowerproductioncostsand
ultimately improveon thecountry’s
competitiveness, howwill the rural
womenandchildren,more so in the
coffee sub-sectorbenefit from this
increase?
InadditionGovernment, through
Uganda Industrial Research Institute
(UIRI), has invested in fabricationof
valueaddition technologies including
anenergyefficientovens, ceramic
bio-gasburnersand soapmaking
machines. Are thewomen in thecoffee
sub-sector takingadvantageof these
new labour saving technologies in
Uganda?
Thisbringsus to interrogate the
extent towhich thenational coffee
policyand strategyaddressenergy
concerns in thecoffee sub-sector and
more so the impact theenergy related
interventionswouldmakeonmen,
womenandchildren.Wasgender
planningandanalysis carriedoutwith
any linkageonenergyasprescribedby
gender analysts2?Does sustainability
in thecoffee sub-sectorhaveany
linkage toenergyusage?On theother
hand, theUgandaGenderPolicy2007
notwithstanding, isUganda’senergy
policygender sensitiveorgender
neutral/blind?Weall appreciate that
energy isaprime ingredient inall
productive, subsistenceand leisure
activitties. It thereforehasa linkage in
theUgandancoffee sub-sectorwhich
ispredominantly subsistence.
Conclusion
The linkagesbetweengender, coffee
andenergyareunlimited. Butwhat
comesout veryvividly is that there
isadirect linkagebetweenenergy
andcoffeebutmore importantly to
genderwhereenergy interventions
impactwomen,menandchildren
differently.Therefore theneed tohave
engenderedpolicies isparamount.
Genderplanning is critical inany
project and identificationofgender
relations, interestsandpriorities
becomesquiteostensible.
ByJamesKizito-Mayanja
UCDAMarket intelligenceand
InformationManager/GenderFocal
Officer
2
BeatriceKamati-Njenga
and JoyClancy, ‘Concepts and
Issues inGender andEnergy’,
WorkingPaper presented for
Energia.
Introduction
At thebeginningof 2015, theWorld
BankGroupannouncedanumber
of one-monthglobal e-coursesone
ofwhichwasgender andenergy
and Iwasmotivated toenroll. Inmy
thinking Iwaswonderingwhether
gender andenergyhadany link to the
coffee subsector apart from theknown
ones suchasprovisionofpower to
run factories, cookingand lighting in
the farmers’houses. Iwaspleasantly
surprised that there isa remarkably
significant andquite strong linkage
betweengender andenergy in the
relate to thesewomenandchildren?
What isappreciated is that coffee
productionandprimaryprocessing
takeplace in the rural areas.The rural
householdusesanumberof energy
sources to light, cookamongothers.
As such, any interventionwhichgears
atprovidingefficient energy saving
technologies to rural households
addresses thekeyconcernsof rural
areas. Availabilityof energy sources
affectsmen,womenandchildren
differently.
COFFEE,
GENDER
AND
ENERGY:
ISTHEREANY LINKAGE?
coffee sub-sector inUganda.This
articleexpoundson someof them.
Background
It iswidelybelieved thatwomenand
childrenplaya significant role incoffee
production (weeding, pruningand
harvesting) andprocessing (especially
as sortersatprimaryand secondary
processing facilities). In sodoing,
theycontribute significantly to the
household incomeespeciallywhen
theyarealsoengaged inmarketing
whichwashithertoaman’s roleor
‘responsibility’. How thendoesenergy
