LAUSANNE, Switzerland – Despite the ongoing conflict, South Sudanese coffee farmers are making progress in reviving the country’s coffee industry.
The result of their hard work and dedication – the Nespresso limited edition Grand Cru SULUJA ti South Sudan* – will launch in five new countries later this month, having previously only been available in France.
When Nespresso first introduced SULUJA ti South Sudan last year in France, it became the first coffee to be introduced from the new country of South Sudan and the country’s first significant non-oil export.
Since then, more South Sudanese farmers have become involved in coffee production through Nespresso‘s AAA Sustainable Quality Program, enabling them to increase production and improve their livelihoods.
Nespresso, in partnership with the non-profit organisation TechnoServe, began working in 2011 to revive this forgotten coffee, which was very nearly destroyed during years of conflict in the region.
Since entering the country five years ago, Nespresso and TechnoServe have worked with over 700 farmers, teaching them essential coffee-farming skills and building production infrastructure.
Together, they have helped to establish the first five coffee cooperatives in the country, and facilitated the construction and operation of six wet mills in the Yei region. The work thus far has allowed farmers to earn more money and contribute to the economic development of the region.
The recent spread of the conflict to the Yei region, has impacted on the program and has made it difficult for TechnoServe to continue with local farmer training.
To overcome this, TechnoServe will start to reach the many farmers who continue to tend their farms by broadcasting weekly agronomy trainings over the radio.
Nespresso confirmed on Tuesday it had to temporarily cease operations in South Sudan due to the increasing instability in the country, as we report elsewhere in this issue.
“In the last year, we were making solid progress until the situation deteriorated,” Jacquelyn Campo, a spokeswoman for the South African Nestlé unit, told yesterday the Wall Street Journal.
