African Fine Coffees Review Special Edition Oct-Dec - EAFCA

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Hima will provide 42,000 farmers with around 14.2 million
seedlings in three phases. The first phase already started in
September- December 2011; the 2nd phase started in March
2012, and finally the third phase in September 2012.
This unusual interest shown the cement group in planting
efforts might by a sign of more non-coffee sector participation
in the industry
2. Middle men and traders in Uganda, had for a long
time been treated as outsiders who brought only problems to
the trade. following continued deterioration of coffee quality
with glaring examples of mal-practices exhibited through
poor handling at farm level and outright adulteration along
the way to the exporter, alarm bells were sounded but
everyone thought it wasn`t their duty but solely for UCDA.
Farmers pointed to middlemen, middle men pointed to
primary processors, exporters couldn’t find who to blame
and the chain of blame game was overwhelming. Faced with
this scenario, an association was born with roots in each of
the coffee players to own the reverse of the trend.
The Uganda Quality Coffee Processors and Traders
Association (UQCTPA) as highlighted earlier in this
magazine came together to be the change. Already registering
success through strong partnerships with Uganda Police,
UCDA, USAid and several other bodies, the once “bad boys”
of coffee may prove to be the real tipping point in improving
the coffee quality.
3. The 2011/2012 coffee year saw Uganda take to seats
of significant seats in the world. The International Coffee
Organisation and 4 Cs Association have their chairmanship
held by Uganda. The coffee grapevine further suggests a
West African role may also fall to Uganda. This recognition
could mean one of two things; either Uganda earned these
positions because Africa’s growing appeal as key investment
destination or because Uganda truly earned it as result of
huge strides.
I choose to believe the latter.
Huge potential lies in the growing fine Robusta
Market, domestic coffee consumption, sustainability
initiatives through increased production, market
branding, access to finance and infrastructural
developments.
Now like a volcano dormant for thousands of years,
if the forecasts are anything to go by, we are definitely
in for an industry eruption like never before.
Written by Martin Maraka
About Beans
from the Pearl
In this blog, our
correspondents report on the
developments with Uganda,
better known famously by
the name given to it by Sir
Winston Churchill - “The Pearl
of Africa”