The Coffee Product Network this year received EUR 42,000 from Oxfam WereldWinkles (OWW) in support of Fairtrade Africa’s Coffee Network activities.
The grant facilitated two events in October, a coffee workshop, and a forum on sustainable coffee supply chains in Eastern Africa. Both events were held in Nairobi Kenya. The coffee producers developed strategies for the network and they elected a technical committee to oversee implementation of the newly set annual strategies 2013-2014.
The stakeholders present were representatives from the government and coffee sector all over Eastern Africa. In his speech, the key note speaker Mr. Kenneth Ayuko from the Ministry of Agriculture acknowledged how the Malawi government had adapted Fairtrade policies and mentioned that is was due time for Kenya to adapt the same for the betterment of farmers’ livelihoods.
“It is time for sustainable production,” he said. “Fairtrade needs national recognition for the greater good not just recognition of its existence”. He then concluded by urging the players in the coffee industry to think of strategies of growing coffee production.
Further to the workshop, the coffee producers from the francophone countries will be trained on “improving access to finance” during this year’s Africa Fairtrade Convention on the 27th of November in Stellenbosch South Africa.
