Coffee production in Cameroon

Santa Coffee Estate in Bamenda

Coffee production is very important for the economy of Cameroon[1][2][3] The crop is grown extensively in the country, with robusta more prevalent in the coastal areas and arabica more widespread in the western highlands.[4] The two varieties of arabica cultivated are Java and Jamaïca of which only Java is resistant to pests such as coffee berry disease and rust.[5] In 2014, Cameroon was ranked the 31st largest producer of coffee in world.[6]

## History

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Coffee farming in Cameroon dates to 1884, during the German colonial era. The Germans went up to open trial gardens in Victoria, Ebolowa, Nkongsamba and Dschang. Coffee farming later extended to the hinterlands to Yokadouma, Abong-Mbang, Doumé, Lomié and Akonolinga. Around 1927, the coffee plant found its way to the West Region. By 1928, 200,000 coffee seedlings were planted in Dschang.[7] By 1929, the development of coffee farming in Cameroon was thanks to René COSTE, a French Agricultural Engineer appointed to head the farming Station of Dschang.[8] There was a high level of production in 1990 resulting in record export of 156,000 tons.[6] Cameroon was ranked 12th in world ranking.[6] When the production declined, it was attributed to the policies of the government and to the global economic crisis.[6] The government has sought the help of Brazilian experts to suggest solutions, and it has also invested 750 million FCFA - about US$1.5 million for a five-year period as a relief package.[6]

## Production

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Coffee is grown in seven regions of Cameroon; West, Northwest, Littoral, Southwest, South, Centre and East Region.[9] Bamileke and Bamaoun are the high plateau areas where arabica plantations are located.[10] Robusta, which is a more dominant crop of the country, is grown in middle elevations in western region and also to some degree in Abang Mbang.[10] Arabica and robusta are partly processed within the country.[11] The production of Cameroon's coffee is placed under the responsibility of the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development (MINADER) and that of Scientific Research and Innovations (MINRESI). Under these ministries there are various projects to boost coffee production.[12] According to the United Nations FAO statistics, coffee production in 2013 was 41,800 tons in an area of 212,000 hectares (520,000 acres) with a yield rate of 1.972 hectogram per ha.[13] During the year 2007–08, over 40% of total export was of green coffee to Italy. Robusta was exported to Belgium, Portugal and France. During the same period 70% of the export of arabica was to Germany. Arabica was also exported to the US, Italy and Belgium.[5]

Under the Coffee Sector Development Strategy for 2010–2015, production was aimed at 125,000 tons comprising 25,000 tons of arabica and 100,000 tons of robusta.[5] The export was targeted to achieve 80,000 tons (15,000 tons of arabica and 65,000 tons of robusta). Domestic consumption was gauged at 10,000 tons of green coffee.[5]

## Trade

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The marketing of Coffee in Cameroon is placed under the control of the National Cocoa and Coffee Board (NCCB),an autonomous government institution under the technical supervision of the Ministry of Trade (MINCOMMERCE). Over the years, coffee marketing has witnessed a sharp decline owing to the liberalization of the sector in the early 1990s. In 2014, Cameroon traded 32 808 tonnes of its production.[14] The most active exporters of coffee in Cameroon include ; Olam-Cameroon Olam (a subsidiary of OlamInternational Limited), UTI (Union trading international), UCCAO (Union Centrale des Cooperatives Agricole de l'Ouest), NWCA (North West Cooperative Association), (NEALIKO), Hilltop Dynamics, Alpine Coffee Limited.

## Relaunch of the sector

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On September 30, 2014, the government of Cameroon validated and launched a new plan to revive the coffee sector, hoping to boost production; Robusta Coffee to 120,000 tonnes and Arabica coffee to 35,000 tonnes by 2020.[15][16][17] This was marked by a 100% increase in export levies on coffee to finance the project.

## See also

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* Coffee portal
* Cameroon portal

* Agriculture in Cameroon
* List of countries by coffee production

## References

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1. ^ Les cahier d'autre mer, Les cahier d'autre mer (2008). "Café, caféiculteurs et vie politique dans les hautes terres de l'Ouest-Cameroun". Les Cahiers d'Outre-Mer. 61 (243): 285–302. doi:10.4000/com.5310. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
2. ^ Journal du Cameroun, Journal du Cameroun. "Café camerounais: Un festival pour relancer une filière en crise". Xinhua. Xinhua. Archived from the original on 2014-07-06. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
3. ^ Cameroon Tribune, Cameroon Tribune (2015-04-24). "Festicoffee 2015: Le café des femmes". Cameroon Tribune. 32 (10832/7017): 10. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
4. ^ DeLancey, Mbuh & Delancey 2010, p. 103.
5. ^ a b c d "Cameroon Coffee Sector Development Strateg 2010-2015". National Cocoa And Coffee Board. pp. 16–20. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
6. ^ a b c d e "Cameroon's Coffee Farmers Blame Government for Production Drops". Voice of America. 31 July 2014. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
7. ^ NATIONAL COCOA AND COFFEE BOARD OF CAMEROON, OFFICE NATIONAL DU CACAO ET DU CAFE. "Histoire du Café au Cameroun". ONCC/NCCB. oncc. Retrieved 2015-09-11.[permanent dead link‍]
8. ^ NATIONAL COCOA AND COFFEE BOARD, OFFICE NATIONAL DU CACAO ET DU CAFE. "Histoire du Café au Cameroun". ONCC/NCCB. oncc.[permanent dead link‍]
9. ^ National Cocoa and Coffee Board. "Production Zone of Coffee". ONCC/NCCB. Retrieved 14 September 2015.[permanent dead link‍]
10. ^ a b Waller, Bigger & Hillocks 2007, p. 31.
11. ^ Belda 2006, p. 99.
12. ^ The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. "Vous êtes ici: Accueil " Organismes sous-tutelle Imprimer cette page Générer un PDF Organismes sous-tutelle". MINADER Cameroon. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
13. ^ "Cameroon: Coffee, green, yield". Factfish.com. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
14. ^ NATIONAL COCOA AND COFFEE BOARD. "Lancement de la Campagne Caféière 2014/2015". ONCC/NCCB. Retrieved 14 September 2015.[permanent dead link‍]
15. ^ "Le Cameroun adopte un plan de relance de 600 milliards de FCfa, pour les filières cacao-café". Cameroun 24. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
16. ^ "Le Cameroun adopte un plan de 600 milliards de FCfa, pour la relance des filières cacao-café". Investir au Cameroun. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
17. ^ "Cacao Le Cameroun adopte un plan de relance de 600 milliards de FCfa, pour les filières cacao-café Le Cameroun adopte un plan de relance de 600 milliards de FCfa, pour les filières cacao-café Commentaires 2 - mercredi, 01 octobre 2014 13:11 inShare (Agence Ecofin) - Le 30 septembre 2014, dans les services du Premier ministre, à Yaoundé, le gouvernement camerounais a adopté son plan de relance des filières cacao-café, sur la période 2015-2020. Ce plan a pour objectif, apprend-on, d'atteindre une production cacaoyère de 600,000 tonnes en 2020 (contre un peu plus de 200,000 tonnes actuellement), 150,000 tonnes pour le café robusta (contre 14,724 tonnes lors de la dernière campagne) à la même échéance et 35,000 tonnes pour le café arabica (contre 2,553 tonnes actuellement). Le financement de ce plan de relance jugé très ambitieux est évalué à 600 milliards de francs Cfa, selon le président de la Cellule technique de coordination et de suivi des filières cacao et café, Evariste Evane. A l'en croire, ces fonds sont à rechercher "prioritairement au niveau de la filière elle-même, à travers l'optimisation du prélèvement à l'exportation du cacao et du café qui devra prioritairement supporter les financements, les charges afférentes à la mise en œuvre de ce plan". Techniquement, selon le CICC, ce plan s'articulera autour de l'accroissement du financement de la recherche, la production et la distribution à grande échelle des plants produits à partir de semences améliorées et, dès l'année prochaine, le traitement intégral du verger cacao-café dans le pays et la création de nouvelles et grandes plantations. Lire aussi 03-09-2014 - La production cacaoyère camerounaise 2013-2014 en baisse de 9% à 206,550 tonnes 27-01-2014 - La filière caféière camerounaise sur le déclin 09-07-2014 - Le Comité FAL redoute une accélération de la décote du cacao et du café camerounais 16-06-2014 - Le Cameroun lance une campagne de traitement phytosanitaire intégral du verger cacao-café inShare Éléments similaires (par tag) Cameroun : le CICC veut professionnaliser les organisations de producteurs de cacao-café Philippe Chalmin: "Contrairement à ce qu'on pense, transformer sur place n'est pas gagné d'avance." Le Cameroun veut faire passer sa production de cacao à 600,000 tonnes d'ici cinq ans Le Nigeria produira 50,000 tonnes de cacao en moins cette saison en raison de la sécheresse Le Burundi veut doubler sa production de café tout en priorisant la qualité d'ici 2021". Agence Ecofin. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2015.

## Bibliography

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* Belda, Pascal (2006). Cameroon. EBizguides. ISBN 978-84-933978-5-2.
* DeLancey, Mark Dike; Mbuh, Rebecca; Delancey, Mark W. (3 May 2010). Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Cameroon. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7399-5.
* Waller, J. M.; Bigger, M.; Hillocks, R. J. (2007). Coffee Pests, Diseases and Their Management. CAB International. ISBN 978-1-84593-209-1.

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Coffee production by region

Top 20
producers (2014)|

* Brazil
* Colombia
* Costa Rica
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Ethiopia
* Guatemala
* Honduras
* India
* Indonesia
* Ivory Coast
* Mexico
* Nicaragua
* Papua New Guinea
* Peru
* Tanzania
* Thailand
* Uganda
* Vietnam

* Coffee portal

Other cultivators|

* Angola
* Bolivia
* China
* Cameroon
* Cuba
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* East Timor
* Guadeloupe
* Guam
* Haiti
* Jamaica
* Kenya
* Laos
* Martinique
* Panama
* Paraguay
* Philippines
* Puerto Rico
* Sri Lanka
* United States (Hawaii)
* Venezuela

Lists|

* List of countries by coffee production
* List of countries by coffee exports

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