The theme of transforming the African coffee supply chain by adding value is contained in the Kampala Declaration, signed by all the protagonists of the second G25 African Coffee Summit, which ended yesterday in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.
This three-day event, organized in collaboration with the Inter-African Coffee Organization (IACO) and inaugurated by the Ugandan head of state Yoweri Museveni, was attended by delegations from 25 African coffee-producing countries and some consuming countries, including heads of state, ministers, heads of coffee authorities, representatives of the African private sector, including farmers, processors, exporters, roasters and coffee associations.
“Coffee is the lifeblood of our economies. It is essential to exploit this resource by adding value to coffee to earn more, create jobs and develop our economies”, said the Uganda Coffee Development Authority at the opening of the proceedings, echoed by the Ethiopian agriculture minister and president of the ‘Iaco, Girma Amente, declaring “for centuries coffee has been a source of inspiration, a catalyst for conversation and a symbol of hospitality, but it is also a precious economic asset that sustains the lives of millions of people on our continent”. “Africa – she added – operates at the lower end of the supply chain, 99% of which is captured abroad. This is due, among other causes, to the lack of investment in processing plants, technology and the low level of coffee consumption”.
Therefore adding value to the supply chain starting from its contradictions: “A kilogram of good quality coffee beans can cost 2.5 dollars per kg. But the same amount of roasted, ground, packaged coffee will cost $40. This is where there is a massive hemorrhage of money from the South of the world to the North of the world”, Ugandan President Museveni was indignant, noting that “It is not only the loss of money per kg. It is also the loss of jobs. If you take the full spectrum of raw materials from agriculture, minerals, forest products, etc., the loss for Africa is huge.”
The Kampala Declaration aims to make coffee a strategic crop in line with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, to build a united and integrated Africa and at the same time participate in the global coffee trade, whose value is estimated at 466 billion of dollars
The document signed by the respective agriculture ministers of the 25 coffee-producing countries supports, among other things, research to enable innovation and new product development, generate new knowledge on best practices, improved technologies and studies on resistant varieties to harsher climatic conditions, pests and diseases; the promotion of domestic coffee consumption on the continent; professional training in the supply chain, especially for young people and women; and improving access to finance for coffee value-added projects through the continental framework and institutions, such as the African Union, African Development Bank (AfDb), African Export-Import Bank (Afrexim Bank) and the African Coffee Facility Fund.
This week’s Summit followed the 1st G-25 African Coffee Summit, which took place in Nairobi, Kenya on 25 May 2022. [Da Redazione InfoAfrica]
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