MILAN – African coffee-producing countries gathered in Nairobi last week for the first G-25 Africa coffee Summit under the leadership of H.E Uhuru Kenyatta. This three-day brought together twenty-five coffee-producing countries, which account for 12% of global coffee production. The Summit aimed to re-evaluate the overall performance of the coffee sector on the continent and integrate coffee as an anchor commodity in the African Union in harmony with the Africa Agenda 2063.
Delegates also used the summit to explore ways to increase value addition and domestic consumption of coffee to help open up opportunities for youth and women’s empowerment as well as expand coffee trading regionally through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework.
Delegates assented to a declaration seeking to include the cash crop among strategic agricultural commodities in Africa.
Dubbed the ‘Nairobi Declaration’, the agreement seeks to ensure that coffee is given more attention in the continent in terms of being financed adequately.
The adoption of coffee as a strategic commodity in the African Union will give Africa the leverage to address the challenges faced by the coffee farmers and other actors across the value chain under the auspices of the African Union to build a united and integrated Africa, it was said.
Delegates also said that it is time for Africa to step up, unite regionally and create a vibrant environment for promoting consumption of coffee.
Benson Apuoyo, deputy director at the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) in Kenya noted that the global coffee consumption continues to rise due to demand but unfortunately there is no growth in Africa.
“It is crucial to accelerate domestic consumption of coffee in the untapped markets in Africa for the general socio-economic development,” Apuoyo said during summit.
The G25 African Coffee Summit also requested “The AU Commission to urgently develop an evaluation framework to track down the socio-economic impact on coffee farmers in relation to alleviating poverty and enact the AfCFTA to facilitate cooperation between African countries to encourage inter-African trade to explore the untapped coffee markets within Africa.”
The next G25 African Coffee Summit will take place in Kampala, Uganda in 2023.
