European Union promises more support for Ghanaian coffee producers

The EU said it will collaborate with allied agencies such as the International Trade Centre, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Food Research Institute (CSIR-FRI), and ACRAM to transform the coffee sector.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a forum to discuss the baseline report on coffee production in Ghana, Raffaele Quarto, the Trade Counsellor of EU Ghana delegation noted that the interest of farmers will be at the core of the partnership with the agencies.

He stated that the partnership will seek to ensure that coffee farmers increase their production through sustainable methods and also get access to the European market.

“We want to make sure the partnership is a real one so that importers, producers, traders and all actors in the sector can really partner with the Ghanaian coffee makers, particularly the farmers. We want to support the farmers and other key actors in the area," he said.

The National Coordinator for International Trade Centres and Alliances for Change & Value Chain Development, Larry Attipoe stressed on the need for farmers to cultivate coffee crops in accordance with international standards.

He believes that by adhering to best practices in the production of coffee, the farmers will be charting a path that will eventually position Ghana as one of the world’s leading producers of quality coffee.

“These days if you just produce coffee, no one will buy it. You have the coffee but was it produced in accordance with environmental and human right standards? That is the big differentiator. If we start to produce our coffee in a sustainable way, the market will switch naturally to us. Exporters and all persons must coffee from sources with stories. Once we have a good story for our coffee it will be not only appealing to our youth but also to the market,” he said.

President of the Coffee Federation of Ghana, Chief Nathaniel Ebo Nsarku wondered why the country has not taken keen interest in the cultivation of coffee as it has done with cocoa.

He disclosed that a huge revenue generation opportunity awaits the country in the coffee sector and that time is overdue for the country to ramp up its effort and interest in coffee production.

“Cocoa doesn’t come anywhere near coffee when it comes to foreign exchange. As a country we have the arable lands, the youth and everything that can help us get coffee,” he said.