Producer countries must become consumer markets.
The second Forum of Coffee Producing Countries ended at the end of last week in Campinas (Brazil).
The meeting raised global awareness of the need for a sustainable economy in the global coffee supply. However, other segments of the value chain have not been really mobilized to improve the remuneration of coffee farmers.
The study by Professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University highlighted the need for interaction between all actors in the chain for the development of global actions, in addition to those already undertaken by each country, with all public and private agents being co-responsible for the coffee business to ensure the implementation of sustainability in its economic, environmental and social dimensions.
Participants agreed on the opportunity to develop new technologies to improve traditional coffee marketing methods, bringing consumers closer together and generating added value at the origin.
They also recognised the importance of stimulating the increase in global coffee consumption, particularly in producer and emerging markets, in order to ensure a balance between supply and demand and, consequently, to remunerate coffee producers.
The Forum also provided an opportunity to reflect on ways to use new technologies to aggregate and make available information and figures from all segments of the coffee value chain, in order to generate commercial transparency and in price formation.
Another idea put forward is to develop mechanisms facilitating the availability of information from producers, thanks to the traceability of the products offered and their specificities to final consumers.
The experts also wish to promote producer training through technical assistance and rural extension for the professionalization of property management and the acquisition of knowledge on market risks.
Togo was represented at this meeting by Enselme Gouthon, President of the Agency for Robusta Coffee of Africa and Madagascar (Acram), and Secretary General of CCFCC (Coordination Committee for the Coffee and Cocoa Sectors of Togo).
ACRAM was also a member of the Forum’s Steering Committee.