Tanzanian coffee farmers have been urged to upscale production to take advantage of a global coffee crunch, as international markets expect supply shortfalls of 10 million bags this year.
This was revealed by Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB) Director General Adolph Kumburu, during the Eighth African Fine Coffee Conference and Exhibition, held last week in Arusha.
The summit was organised by the 11 country-strong Eastern African Fine Coffees Association (EAFCA), whose members comprise major coffee producing nations including Tanzania and Kenya.
The EAFCA conference brought together industry stakeholders from across the globe, aimed at showcasing Africa’s finest coffees.
The event provided a forum through which coffee farmers and buyers could exchange ideas and farming techniques, and troubleshoot common challenges facing their operations.
“We’ve invited buyers from across the world to come and see our production process and to experience our finest coffee” said Kumburu, explaining, “We had to; if they (global buyers) don’t see our production environment, they won’t buy our coffee.”
Further, the TCB Director asked Tanzanian coffee farmers to increase production to take advantage of the expected global supply shortage, since for once; they have a sure market for their crop and they can expect their crop to fetch a good price.
The three percent increase in international demand for coffee in the 2010/11 season is, however, offset by a two percent shrinkage in local demand.
This, Kimburu argued, reflects the tendency of Tanzanian consumers snubbing products that are manufactured locally.
According to him, the country needs a strategy to increase consumer awareness and stimulate demand for local products.
For their part, Tanzanian coffee farmers are requesting that the government and financial institutions provide them with long-term loans, which will enable them to upscale their operations and improve productivity.
Amir Hamza, a coffee farmer and buyer from Kagera Region, told the summit that local cultivators face many challenges, including limited access to modern farm equipment and a lack of skills pertaining to pesticide use and dosage.
Moreover, he attributed low coffee yields to the fact that many of the local farmers use no fertiliser, explaining that in countries such as Vietnam, access to fertiliser has meant farmers can harvest as much as three tonnes per hectare, whereas in Tanzania, a farmer is lucky if he gets 800kgs per ha.
Hamza advised his peers to up their fertiliser usage if they want to increase output.
(Source: http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/index.php?l=26278)
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