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| Smallholder coffee to beat target |
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by
Moses Michael-Phiri, 10 May 2007
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08:17:34
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The Coffee Association of Malawi (Camal) says the Smallholder Coffee Farmers Trust in the Northern Region is expected to increase production this year from 350 metric tonnes of green beans to about 500 metric tonnes.
Camal indicated that good weather conditions coupled with current improved prices, coffee farmers in the North have been motivated to grow more coffee and will beat their estimated target.
“These are sufficient indications for the Trust to revise its estimates from 350 tonnes to 500 tonnes of green beans,” said Peter Njikho, Camal’s technical and marketing executive in the first edition of Camal newsletter.
Njikho also told Business Review in an earlier interview efforts to revive the coffee industry are slowly paying dividends.
The initiatives recently introduced include the revival of field days, coffee clubs and training.
Coffee production levels started tumbling in 1998 when farmers and producers were getting very little on the world market.
Production levels in 1992 went down to 4,803.44 metric tonnes from 7,719.9 metric tonnes in 1991 while the growing area was also reduced drastically from 6,901.8 hectares to 6,058.3 hectares, according to Camal.
As of last year, production levels hit rock bottom to 1,768.2 metric tonnes and the growing area had reduced to only 1,715.1 from 3,266.8 hectares in 1984.
Sable Farming, Conforzi, Press Agriculture, Kapumo Estate in Namadzi, Baron’s Mbadzi Estate, Universal Industries’ Njuli Estate, Zoa Tea Estate in Thyolo, Naming’omba Tea Estate, Satemwa, Makandi Tea and Coffee Estate, Wallace Estate Chipinga Farms, Katoto Coffee Estate and Smallholder Coffee Farmers Trust in Mzuzu are all replanting or extending their coffee fields, according to Camal.
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