| Co-op to export processed coffee | Send to a friend |
| Tuesday, 31 August 2010 23:29 |
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A Kigoma producer cooperative union will set up a plant for grinding and packing coffee. Its officials say the Kanyovu Coffee Curing Joint Enterprise will process coffee for local and foreign markets. Its chairman, Mr Yahya Mahwisa, said the coffee brand would be named Gombe after the famous Gombe Stream National Park in the region. “The coffee will be marketed internationally alongside the Gombe National Park.” “We have already secured a market in Germany in addition to our markets in the US, Switzerland and South Africa. The objective is to export directly to those markets,” Mr Mahwisa told farmers and cooperative officials from Singida, Lindi and Coast regions who were on a tour of Kigoma. Kigoma exported 90 tonnes of cured specialty grade coffee last year and plans to export 144 tonnes this year.The union had orders to export more coffee but it was unable to do so because a crop disease cut production. The union started in 2003 and has become one of best examples of how farmers can add values of their produce and market and sells products. Kanyovu Coffee Curing Joint Enterprise encompasses 11 primary cooperative societies of Kigoma, Kibondo and Kasulu districts. It has a plant that has a capacity for curing 20 tonnes of coffee a day. It has also set up five coffee collecting centres for peeling 1.5 tonnes of coffee berries a day. Kigoma sells its specialty coffee at around Sh3,000 a kilo while home processed coffee fetches Sh2,500 a kilo. “It is almost impossible for an individual farmer to adhere to all set benchmarks for producing specialty coffee, but we encourage them to join the union to be able to produce high quality coffee for international markets,” Mr Mahwisa said. To produce specialty coffee, a farmer is required to adhere to standards in farming and processing chain to have the requisite taste and aroma. The union’s secretary, Mr Saidi Bijenge, said inadequate capital was hindering the cooperative from meeting its goals. Tanzania is the fourth largest coffee producer in Africa after Ethiopia, Uganda and Ivory Coast. The country’s major coffee-producing regions are Kilimanjaro, Kagera, Ruvuma and Kigoma. Meanwhile, ActionAid Tanzania organised a trip of 12 Kigoma coffee farmers and government officials to Rwanda to learn best practices of producing specialty grade coffee. The non-governmental organsation is implementing a two-year project on strengthening rural agricultural cooperative societies in Kilwa, Mafia and Singida Rural districts. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
