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All the buzz about AFCA’s activities

1000 HECTARE COFFEE PARADISE IN SOUTHERN TANZANIA

Did you know that in a regular coffee, your preferred barista uses about 150 ml of water to serve it as you like and it goes as low as 22 ml for an expresso? That’s it! Might be your first reaction but you may hold your breath on this one when we tell you that in fact, it takes more than 18,900 L to produce 1kg of coffee.

Indeed, when cruising the alleys of a supermarket or sitting in comfy sofas of a coffee shop, we may all forget that water plays a crucial role in global food security and is essential for production. Water scarcity is already an issue in many world regions and at Olam International Ltd (Olam), we have become well aware of that. It is correct to say that most crops are rain-fed. Nonetheless agriculture also accounts for 71% of all fresh water withdrawals. Demand for additional water for irrigation is estimated to increase by nearly 28% by 2025, while agriculture is estimated to contribute to more than 30% of all fresh water pollution.

Click here to read more and turn to page 32.

MEET KAILASH NATANI THE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF UGACOF UGANDA

It is a warm day in Kampala when we visit Kailash Natani at the UGACOF Offices in Bweyogere along Jinja Road. As usual he is all smiles but says very little. This interview is a rarity his staff tell us. The walls of the UGACOF offices tell the story of two decades of growth, storytelling and trade in Uganda – the birthplace of Robusta and Africa’s largest coffee exporting nation. As we sit in the boardroom he requests that we have what is probably the best single origin Robusta we have ever drank. He is also in a suit, another rarity. Thank you for having us Kailash.

Describe Kailash Natani in three words?

I would describe Kailash Natani as a humble and simple man. I think I have been that way from childhood.

How did you get into coffee?

I worked with a commodity company in the past. The commodity company was based in India and traded Soya. I transferred to Uganda 13 years ago when an opportunity came up with UGACOF Uganda. How different is trading in Uganda now than it was 15 years ago when you joined? In the past, Information Technology (IT) was not really a part of trading. The internet was not as available but today everything is available on the internet, everyone is connected so people know the prices on the international and local markets which has eased the sale and buying of coffee

To read more please click here and turn to page 10.

The 2018 AFCA Techincal Trip to Brazil in Partnership with Palini & Alves

By Sylvio Padilha, Agronomist, Coffee Grower and Export Trader for Palini & Alves Ltd

“I believe in the farmer and the land – sources of wealth and well-being and the right of access of the rural community to the benefits of science, education and culture …” (first paragraph of the “Creed of the Extensionist”, written on a hand-painted panel at the Incaper’s HQ main entrance)

On the second week of September, eight AFCA stakeholders from: Angola, Malawi, Kenya and Rwanda, traveled to Brazil for a technical trip carried out through the partnership AFCA / Palini & Alves Ltd.

The aim of the trip was to introduce to the participants, the latest Palini & Alves post harvesting innovations and the best practices technologies led by Incaper, the main research, technical assistance and rural extension institute for both c. canephora (mainly) and c. arabica, in Brazil.

As a first appointment, there was a welcome meeting at Palini & Alves HQ, in which the group had the opportunity to present themselves and express their expectations regarding the trip.

To read more about this story please click here and turn to page 26 of our October – December 2018 Magazine Issue.

 

ICO resolution on the low Coffee Prices – September 2018

By the International Coffee Organisation

Considering:

The situation of 25 million families spread over the producing countries;

Current market price levels; the cost of coffee production in producing countries; the diversity of public policies adopted; the need to coordinate efforts to publicize the aspects of the coffee producing chain;

The need that the ICO prioritize actions to promote the producer economic sustainability; and the promotion of consumption as a fundamental instrument to achieve balance between supply  and demand, in order to guarantee the economic sustainability of the coffee chain.

Please click here to read more and turn to page 38 of the October – December 2018 Magazine.

TOPER SETS UP COFFEE ROASTING PLANT IN US PRISON

By the Toper Roaster Team

Toper, among the world’s largest coffee processing machine producers, installed Coffee processing plant in California Mule Creek Prison, Sacramento, USA.

Toper manager Ramazan Karakundakoğlu, who gives information on the subject, said, “We are a family company selling coffee processing facilities in 136 countries. We have international ETL and UL quality certificates required in America. We have been selling coffee roasting machines to the United States for many years.”

The project is aimed at recruiting and rehabilitating prisoners in the American government’s social responsibility Project.

To read this story please click here and open turn to page 21 of our October – December 2018 Magazine Issue.

GRAND PARADE COFFEE HOSTS AN OPEN-TABLE FORUM ON KENYA IN THE US

by Prof Joseph Kieyah and the Grand Paradé Team

Grand Paradé, San Francisco based Kenyan specialty coffee importer, hosted a unique cupping with prominent Bay Area coffee professionals on September 10, 2018 in Berkeley, California. The event featured Professor Joseph Kieyah, president appointed Chairman of the Kenya Coffee Task Force, who led a conversation about the ongoing reforms in the Kenya coffee sector.

In the CoRo cupping room, the Kenyan government and US industry leaders had a face to face discussion about challenges, issues, and resolutions for Kenyan coffee. The goal for Kenya was to understand the demand market’s needs so that they may rise to the occasion. Professor Kieyah shared the Coffee Task Force’s reform implementations which are creating new infrastructure on the supply side. With this focus in place, it is now time to engage the global market.

To read more please click here and turn to page 20 of our October – December 2018 Magazine Issue

The Rising Tide of the DR Congo “Grand Nord” Origin

 

 

By Kambale Kisumba Kamungele Export Director Ets. TSONGO KASEREKA, Butembo, Nord-Kivu, DR Congo

Just as certain activities are associated by the human mind with specific places, by the same token Coffee in RD Congo is associated with the eastern part of that country. In recent years, most international media coverage on Congo Coffee has been focused on the area bordering the shores of the Lake Kivu, but less attention has been drawn to another section of DRC where coffee activity has remained vibrant, despite its apparent isolation.

This place commonly called as the “Grand Nord” is a region located in the northern part of the Nord-Kivu province of the DRC. It is a vast space made up of the territories of Lubero and Beni, covering close to 24’000 km2 and inhabited by close to 3 million people. It is bordered in the North by the Province of Ituri and in the South by the Territories of Walikale and Rutshuru. On its west there is the Tshopo  Province with wrapped by the Maiko National Park. On the east side of the region, one can find a series of rivers, mountains and lakes constituting landmarks at the border of DRC and Uganda.  In that location, there is  the Lake Edward, lying in the Virunga National Park, which is connected to the Lake Albert by the Semuliki River, flowing northward through the Albertine Rift Valley on the west side of the Ruwenzori Mountains Range, whose highest snowcapped peak reaches 5’109 m altitude.

To read more please click here and turn to page 14 in our October – December 2018 Magazine.

 

Sector change starts with collaboration – Launch of the Kenya Coffee Platform.

700,000 small-scale farmers in Kenya earn a living from coffee production. The sector contributes to 1% to the national GDP and 8% of the total agricultural export earnings. But the challenges the sector faces are big: low productivity, high cost of production, weak farmer groups, climate change, systemic poverty, aging coffee trees and farmers, social inequity.

On July 31, 2018, Kenya’s coffee sector launched the Kenya Coffee Platform. The purpose of the platform is to allow all coffee stakeholders to discuss freely the issues affecting the coffee sector locally.

Hon Mwangi Kiunjuri, EGH, Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation in Kenya.

“It is my expectation that the Forum will be the catalyst to the industry to transform the coffee sector. I challenge you to make it a platform for constructive industry dialogue where all players are welcome and encouraged to make their voice count.” Hon. Mwangi Kiunjuri, Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Irrigation in Kenya.

“[The] creation of the Kenya Coffee Platform is a significant milestone. My sincere hope is that the activities of the platform will transform and develop Kenya’s coffee sector. Giving it a stronger comparative advantage in the international markets.” Martine Van Hoogstraten, Head of Trade and Development Cooperation, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Since 2016, African Fine Coffee Association (AFCA), Solidaridad, the Sector Partnership Program of Rainforest Alliance (recently merged with UTZ) and Global Coffee Platform (GCP), have been working towards creating an inclusive and participatory platform. This is where supply chain actors, farmers, farmer organizations, sector organizations, civil society organizations, private sector, governments, standards, development partners and others can get together to revive the once-thriving coffee industry in Kenya.

 

The Kenya Coffee Platform has identified different priority issues such as: increasing productivity, tackling climate change, improving extension and training materials, and including women and youth.  All of these are crucial for the future of the coffee sector. The Rainforest Alliance is proud to support The Kenya Coffee Platform in their efforts of achieving these goals.

“We believe that only when all stakeholders are working together can we drive sector change and sustainability. The challenges and opportunities ahead of us are huge – no one can solve that alone. However, if we work together – everyone, and most importantly the coffee farmer, can benefit from coffee production, processing, trading and consumption in Kenya. The Kenya Coffee Platform is an excellent opportunity to put this ambition on sector wide collaboration into practice.” Christiane Hornikel, Global theme lead productivity and farmer groups strengthening, Rainforest Alliance – UTZ program.

COMMODITIES FUND ACHIEVES ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFICATION

Commodities Fund, a State institution under the Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation that provides low cost revolving credit facilities to Crops sector in Kenya and a member institution of AFCA has attained International Standards Organization (ISO) 9001:2015 accreditation.

Presenting the ISO Certificate to Prof. Eric Ogur, the Fund’s Sessional Chairman of Board of Trustees on June 6th, 2018 in Nairobi, Hon. Mwangi Kiunjuri, the Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary in-charge of Agriculture and Irrigation described the achievement is an example of the vision desired when the Kenyan Government initiated the Results-Based Management and Agriculture Sector Reforms in 2003 with the formulation of the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (ERS) and the Strategy for Revitalization of Agriculture (SRA).

To read more please visit page 44 of our July-September Magazine Issue 

KYAGALANYI WINS SUSTAINABLE STANDARD SETTER AWARD

At the Rainforest Alliance gala on 9th May 2018 in New York, Britta Wyss Bisang, RA’s Chief of Sustainable Supply Chains, presented a Sustainable Standard Setter Award to Anneke Fermont of Kyagalanyi Coffee Ltd. Kyagalanyi, part of Volcafe, is the first African coffee company to win this prestigious award.

The award recognizes the company’s efforts to demonstrate an exceptional commitment to sustainability, improving livelihoods , and conserving biodiverse landscapes in Uganda.

To read more please visit page 42 of our July-September Magazine Issue