West Africa coffee industry gets boost with launch of processing handbook

The International Trade Centre (ITC) and various stakeholders have joined forces to provide a major boost for coffee production in Ghana and West Africa with the launch of a handbook on coffee processing for farmers and agro-processors.

The handbook is expected to serve as a comprehensive guide for farmers, small and medium-scale processing enterprises, and other participants in the coffee value chain. It covers essential aspects such as harvesting, post-harvest management, and, most importantly, the processing of coffee. The aim is to ensure industry-wide quality standards are met and maintained.

The official launch of the handbook took place on Thursday, July 13, 2023, at the Food Research Institute in Accra.

Speaking at the event, Professor Charles Tortoe, Director of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Food Research Institute (CSIR-FRI), emphasized the significance of the handbook as a transformative tool for Ghana and West Africa's coffee industry.

He explained that the primary objective of the handbook is to ensure adherence to international quality standards. Additionally, it aims to facilitate value addition, positioning the country to generate substantial foreign exchange from the lucrative global coffee industry, which amounts to billions of dollars.

He stated that, "The purpose is to look at how best we can add value to coffee. Production of coffee comes under the domain of Cocobod, but post-harvesting, where we have value-addition, is also a crucial sector that we need to bring on board. Thus, we are here today to launch this manual, which we have developed with the support of ITC and ACP."

He further emphasized that "the quality of coffee is key to the success of the coffee industry within the country. When we have good quality coffee, we are sure to be able to export quality and generate foreign exchange for the country. The exportation of coffee is contingent on quality, and that is precisely what this manual encapsulates."

For his part, Mr. Larry Attipoe, the National Coordinator for International Trade Centres and Alliances for Change & Value Chain Development, highlighted the substantial global demand for high-quality coffee. He stressed that the manual would serve as a comprehensive guideline for all industry players to achieve the requisite quality to compete effectively in the international market.

"We are involved in this because we see coffee as an important value chain for our country with the opportunity to develop coffee communities. The opportunity is there. The coffee trees are in the bush, but we need to bring them to the market. So all the effort is to encourage them to produce quality and bring it to the market in line with the mandate of ITC, which is to promote competitiveness. That is why we are involved," Mr. Attipoe noted.

Representatives from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), and several coffee processors were present at the launch event. They delivered supportive messages endorsing the manual.

The project was funded by the European Union with support from the Organization of Africa Caribbean and Pacific States, including ACRAM—an international non-profit association that brings together private and public operators interested in the Robusta coffee sector in Africa and Madagascar.

This initiative forms part of a broader EU ACP Programme, with the International Trade Centre leading the intervention in Ghana. The program's focus in Ghana is to revitalize the coffee sector by providing support to various stakeholders, including coffee value chain actors, farmer cooperatives, and support institutions.

The program includes capacity-building training on good agricultural practices, harvesting techniques, and coffee farm establishment. Workshops on coffee roasting, cupping, coffee shop management, and market development are also organized to enhance the productive capacities of farmers and promote value addition. Furthermore, coffee MSMEs are encouraged to participate in international coffee fairs to explore business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) opportunities.