Moshi, Tanzania, with a view of Kilimajaro in the background

Making coffee production in Moshi sustainable

The not-for-profit organization TechnoServe is working with small-scale farmers in Moshi (Tanzania) to sustainably improve the quality of the coffee they produce while maximizing their investment.

The trees currently growing coffee beans are 50 years old, which is negatively impacting not only the quality but also the quantity of coffee being produced. The country of Tanzania, in fact, currently registers the world’s lowest coffee yields. This is significant as neighbouring Kenya yields high-quality beans that are in high demand.

Funders are now being identified to construct a central pulping station, which will improve the quality and help maintain coffee as a viable crop in the region. Also being encouraged is local consumption; at present there is no market for the high quality coffee that is produced as it is all exported.

Last year, 1,500 small-scale farmers produced 90 percent of the country’s overall production of 58,000 tons of coffee beans.

ICLEI’s Local Agenda 21 (LA21) Campaign promotes a participatory, long-term, strategic planning process that supports local governance by identifying local sustainability priorities and mobilizing local governments and their citizens to implement long-term action plans that address these sustainable priorities. Using the LA21 approach of participatory sustainable development planning, ICLEI aims to assist local authorities to move beyond general sustainable development planning and to apply this approach in tackling areas of priority concern. For more information, please visit www.iclei.org/la21.

Moshi is one of 38 local governments in Africa that are currently Members of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. For more information on ICLEI and its activities in Africa, please visit www.iclei.org/africa.

Source: ‘Tanzania could produce top-quality coffee with new trees’, and ‘TechnoServe encourages local coffee consumption to offset declining prices’, Associated Press, 22 February 2007.