Attach smallholder coffee growers to cooperatives: NRI

The National Business

SMALLHOLDER coffee growers in the country should be attached to cooperatives to address issues they are facing, according to the National Research Institute (NRI).
The NRI said in a recent publication that these issues had been contributing to a decline in the quantity and quality of coffee produced.
Smallholder growers dominate coffee production.
“The challenges need drastic measures to address them (by) encouraging the smallholder coffee growers to be part of coffee cooperatives,” the NRI statement said.
The challenges included:

  • INADEQUATE access to basic infrastructure and facilities. Smallholder growers in remote areas find it difficult to access milling and storage facilities resulting in their produce losing quality and even becoming damaged, due to lack of roads;
  • INADEQUATE extension services. Smallholders lack access to extension services, training, and information about modern coffee production techniques; and,
  • HIGH costs of replacing old coffee trees. Most of the coffee trees tend to have passed their economic productive age – which is 20 years.

Many growers were not replacing old coffee trees due to lack of funds;

  • CHANGE of cropping pattern. Due to the increasing population on land use, decline in coffee market price, shortage of labour, and inadequate access to processing facilities, most smallholders have converted part or whole of their coffee fields to other more economical crops;
  • PESTS and diseases such as coffee berry borer, coffee leaf rust, coffee green scale and pink disease threaten coffee production;
  • UNFAVOURABLE market prices. Coffee buyers often do not pay a fair price sold to them by smallholder farmers. This often discourages them from producing quality coffee; and,
  • ACCESS to finance. Smallholder growers often find it difficult to access loans from commercial banks.