Coffee is one of Uganda’s biggest exports. It employs an estimated 1.7 million households and contributes about 12 to 15 per cent of the country’s export earnings. From the slopes of Mount Elgon to the farms of Greater Masaka, coffee pays school fees, builds homes, and keeps rural economies moving. Yet in many of these same communities, children are working in the very fields that sustain their families. Child labour refers to work that harms a child’s health, safety, or development, or interferes with schooling. Uganda’s Employment Act and Children Act prohibit hazardous work for children and protect their right to education. In practice, however, many rural children combine school with heavy farm work, and some drop out entirely during peak harvest seasons. In coffee-growing districts, the pressures are clear. Most farmers operate on small plots of land and depend on a single harvest. When prices fall, or buyers delay payments, households struggle. The 2022 Uganda National Labour Force Survey estimated that millions of children aged 5 to 17 are engaged in child labour across sectors, with agriculture carrying the largest share. Coffee is part of that picture. Research by the AfriChild Centre in four districts of the Bugisu sub-region, Kapchorwa, Bududa, Sironko, and Mbale, shows how widespread the problem is within the coffee supply chain. Nearly half of the children involved in coffee-related activities were found to be in child labour. The prevalence was higher among boys at 51 per cent, compared to 42 per cent among girls. Six out of every ten children said they worked because their parents instructed them to. The tasks are often demanding. Children pick coffee cherries, carry heavy loads, weed plantations, and, in some cases, apply agrochemicals. These activities expose them to physical strain and health risks. During harvest periods, attendance in primary and lower secondary schools drops. In communities where school completion rates are already fragile, this deepens the risk of permanent dropout. The issue is not unique to Uganda. Across East Africa, coffee and tea-producing regions face similar challenges. In Ethiopia and Kenya, child labour has been documented in agricultural supply chains tied to global markets. Across sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture accounts for the majority of child labour cases. The drivers are consistent: rural poverty, limited access to quality education, weak labour inspection systems, and social norms that treat children’s farm work as part of their upbringing, even when it crosses into harm. There is also a reputational cost. Uganda is Africa’s second-largest coffee exporter after Ethiopia, and global buyers are under pressure to demonstrate ethical sourcing. The European Union’s new regulations on deforestation and supply chain due diligence, along with corporate sustainability commitments, mean that traceability and labour standards are under greater scrutiny. Evidence of child labour threatens market access and long-term sector growth. Addressing child labour in coffee requires more than enforcement alone. Labour inspectors are few, and rural areas are vast. Families need stable incomes. When coffee prices improve and farmers are paid on time, reliance on children’s labour tends to decline. Social protection programmes such as cash transfers under the Social Assistance Grants for Empowerment have shown that direct income support reduces child work in vulnerable households. Education must also be part of the solution. Universal Primary Education has expanded access, but hidden costs such as uniforms, meals, and scholastic materials still push children out of school. In coffee-growing communities, flexible school calendars and catch-up programmes during harvest seasons can prevent permanent dropout. Vocational pathways for older adolescents provide alternatives to hazardous farm work. Private sector actors have a role as well. Exporters, cooperatives, and buyers need to invest in farmer training, child protection policies, and community monitoring systems. Certification schemes alone are not enough without local ownership and follow-up. Child labour in Uganda’s coffee sector is rooted in economic survival. Many parents do not intend harm. They are responding to hardship with the resources available to them. The response therefore has to match that reality with practical support, firm enforcement, and sustained public investment in children. Uganda’s coffee tells a story of resilience and global connection. That story should not include children carrying the weight of an industry before they are ready. If coffee is to remain a source of national pride and prosperity, it must be built on farms where children are in school and safe, not in the fields doing work that limits their future.