Coffee marketable output drops by 22,000 tonnes

Cameroon is blessed to be an agricultural country. Despite government’s will a number of factors still keep production and commercialisation at the base.

In view of furthering production, the Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, launched the new coffee season during an official ceremony in Melong in the Moungo Division, Littoral, on January 24.

In attendance were the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Essimi Menye, as well as the Governor of the Littoral Region and other dignitaries, among others. Globally, Cameroon occupies the 22nd position producing an annual 35,000 to 40,000 tonnes of coffee.

In terms of export, Cameroon occupies the 5th position in Africa, coming after Ouganda, Ethiopia, Cote d’Ivoire, and Tanzania. Between 2011 and 2013 robusta coffee production dropped from 36,000 tonnes in 2011/2012 to merely 4,000 tonnes in 2012/2013.

As a result, export also reduced from 34,072 tonnes to 14,724 tonnes. Marketable production of both robusta and arabica stood at 16,142 tonnes representing a drop of 21,985 tons vis-à-vis the previous season.

The good thing, however, is that quality greatly improved. The General Manager of the National Cocoa and Coffee Board, Michael Ndoping, said what they so much need is not quantity but quality.

“Considering the present net increase in coffee consumption in the world, Cameroon’s traditional coffee markets need coffee but when Russia and China will start consuming coffee we will never produce enough,” he said.

Concerning arabica, quality generally improved as compared to the last five years. However, commercialisation stagnated but export rose to some 2,523 tonnes in 2012/2013 as against some 2,392 tonnes in 2011/2012.

Challenges Most farms date as far back as to the colonial period and now need to be renewed. Farmers and plants are aging out and there is lack of modern production tools and fertilizers, lack of access roads to production zones, difficulties in moving between the plants, lack of financing of production and commercialisation activities and constant fluctuation of coffee price.

Efforts Government is encouraging transition to second-generation agriculture. This considers the use of improved seeds, quality fertilizers, mechanisation and a steady increase in local processing and commercialisation efforts.

Other efforts include the setting up of a bank for agriculture which is still to go operational, multiplication of support programmes and projects for farmers and the initiation of various forums to promote coffee and cocoa.

Furthermore, MINADER has a programme to support the renewing of farms, Essimi Menye disclosed. “We are testing the use of mechanisation in some production zones. We produce very little quantity but we need to take advantage because our coffee has good quality,” he said.