How to increase coffee farmers’ profitability African Countries?
Both Coffee Platforms in Kenya and Uganda will continue engaging GCP Members into their activities to work harder for the future of the farmers, their crops, and the local communities.
To kick off the Sustainability Day, organized by the African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA) and Rainforest Alliance last 12th of February in Kigali, Rwanda, the Global Coffee Platform co-facilitated an opening panel to bring insights on recent studies in Uganda and Kenya. 250 participants discovered and discussed the current status of the Economic Viability of Coffee Farming, gaps and improvement recommendations in both countries. During the session, George Watene, GCP Program Manager, moderated the conversation between Tony Mugoya (UCFA, Chair of Economic Viability Working Group) and Martin Ngare (CMS Kenya, on behalf of the Kenyan Coffee Platform), who provided information about actions taken during the past years and suggested next steps for each National Coffee Platform. The Kenyan Economic Viability study was one of the first activities of the Kenyan Coffee Platform (launched in July 2018) and identified two key issues in the Kenyan coffee sector that need to be addressed to increase farmers’ income from coffee: transparency at cooperative level and productivity at farm level. This study was enabled through the collaboration between GCP and the German Agency for International Development (GIZ) representing the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The study in Uganda focused on the current challenges faced by coffee farmers when it comes to operating commercially, which needs to be address more efficiently to benefit coffee farming families in the country. The Ugandan Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) which is chairing the Ugandan Coffee Platform has been using the study to engage commercial farmers to join coffee production.
After this introductory panel, the participants engaged into meaningful discussions through further panel sessions regarding generational takeover, renovation and rehabilitation of trees, technological innovation. At the end, the Sustainability Day gave the attendees a clear conclusion: despite all the open fronts that need immediate action, including the concerns about the current market price developments, nothing can be achieved at scale without aligning efforts, thinking outside the box and acting together more efficiently.
Both Coffee Platforms in Kenya and Uganda will continue engaging GCP Members into their activities to work harder for the future of the farmers, their crops, and the local communities. Click here to access the study in Kenya and the study in Uganda. You can also contact George Watene to find out more about the Economic Viability studies in each country.
These are the presentations shown during the Sustainabiltiy Day for each country: