COFFEE INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CIMS)
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Date
2026-09-03
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Busitema University
Abstract
Coffee is an important cash crop and a major source of livelihood for smallholder farmers in Uganda. However, smallholder coffee farmers in Kapchorwa face challenges in post-harvest handling, drying, storage, and marketing. Poor harvesting practices, inadequate drying and storage conditions, limited documentation, and weak traceability can contribute to coffee quality deterioration, reduced market access, and lower returns to farmers. The study therefore aimed to design, develop, implement, and test a Coffee Information Management System (CIMS) to improve coffee post-harvest handling, storage, and marketing among smallholder farmers.
The study adopted an applied research approach and used the SADAM methodology within the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC), incorporating Rapid Application Development (RAD) principles. Data were collected through interviews, observation, and document review involving smallholder farmers, coffee buyers, and selected agricultural extension officers. The collected information was analyzed to identify functional and non-functional system requirements. The system was developed as a web-based application using HTML, CSS, Bootstrap, JavaScript, PHP, and MySQL, with XAMPP used for local deployment and testing.
The developed CIMS provides functionality for user registration and login, farmer management, harvest recording, drying and storage records, coffee availability, buyer transactions, and purchase history. The system also supports centralized data storage and improves the organization, retrieval, and traceability of coffee information from harvest to sale. Unit testing, integration testing, and user validation were conducted to assess the functionality and usability of the system.
The study concludes that CIMS provides a practical digital approach to replacing fragmented manual record-keeping and improving the management of coffee post-harvest and marketing information. The study recommends adoption of the system by coffee organizations and smallholder farmers, together with continuous system maintenance, improvement, and development of additional modules to enhance its functionality.