IOne of the objectives of the ARABIKA project is to ensure the visibility of coffee from the 21 cooperatives under the project and to find markets for their coffee through events like the just concluded Nairobi International Trade Fair. Participating in such events provides the opportunity for potential buyers to taste and experience the coffee that comes directly from the cooperatives. The Nairobi International Trade Fair was a week-long event that took place between 25th September 2023 and 2nd October 2023. The ARABIKA exhibition stand was buzzing with visitors and oozing with coffee aroma which did well to attract many of the visitors in the Expo hall. We previously received freshly roasted coffee beans from the cooperatives, which we prepared for coffee-tasting sessions for the booth visitors.
Increased income for the farmers and improved quality of the coffee is the main goal of the project and each of the cooperatives under the project have access to a coffee lab where they can undertake quality assurance of their coffee through cup profiling to determine issues with quality.
The farmers have also been trained on climate-smart techniques and best agricultural practices to attain improved production. As climate change wreaks havoc on crops around the globe, this initiative is greatly aiding the farmers in using better practices to avoid making losses in production.
In order to support the downstream part of the value chain, the project is implementing a digital platform that will ensure the visibility of the coffee to potential buyers logging in locally or internationally. This is yet another avenue for sales and marketing of the coffee and we hope to engage all the cooperatives under the project to showcase their coffee on the platform.
by
Justin Kasia
Area Technical Manager- Branding ARABIKA Project
