Kagera Cooperative Union wants to grab over 10 million kilos of cherry coffee next season after only managing 4.9 million this round. Chairman Ressy Mashulano says they are pushing farmers to swap out dead trees and go digital with scales while ramping up organic production. The group represents 125 cooperatives covering around 60,000 small-scale growers who mostly deal in Robusta.
The union locked down a 27 billion shilling loan from Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank to buy coffee and build a hotel. They paid back their previous 10.4 billion shilling loan with interest already, and they are still working Fair Trade deals with international buyers who guarantee stable prices. Some cooperatives used Fair Trade cash to throw up classrooms and health centers or fix roads to collection points.
Kagera Region pumps out about half of Tanzania's coffee supply, and the government wants national production jumping from 78,000 metric tonnes to 300,000 through better seedlings and more farmer control over the value chain.
The union locked down a 27 billion shilling loan from Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank to buy coffee and build a hotel. They paid back their previous 10.4 billion shilling loan with interest already, and they are still working Fair Trade deals with international buyers who guarantee stable prices. Some cooperatives used Fair Trade cash to throw up classrooms and health centers or fix roads to collection points.
Kagera Region pumps out about half of Tanzania's coffee supply, and the government wants national production jumping from 78,000 metric tonnes to 300,000 through better seedlings and more farmer control over the value chain.
