Child Labour Rising in Uganda’s Coffee Sector, Watchdog Warns
The African Network for the Prevention and Protection Against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN) Uganda has flagged a growing trend of child labour tied to the country’s booming coffee industry. The organization’s Executive Director, said rising global coffee prices, up from roughly $1.50 to $3 over the past three years, are pushing more farmers to expand production and rely on children as cheap labour.
According to the report, an estimated 6.2 million Ugandan children (about 40% of those aged 5–17) are engaged in child labour nationally. While the practice has traditionally been associated with sugarcane and rice farming, it’s now emerging in coffee-growing districts, particularly in the Greater Masaka region, including Rakai, Kyotera, Kalungu, Lwengo, Masaka, Bukomansimbi, and Sembabule. Children are reportedly filling seedling pots, transplanting, watering, and maintaining coffee gardens, often missing school as a result. Climate change was also cited as a compounding factor, with longer dry spells increasing the need for manual irrigation.
ANPPCAN is calling for stronger enforcement of child protection laws across the coffee value chain and urging government agencies, exporters, and farmers to act together.
