TİKA Supports Coffee Producers in the West African Country of Guinea

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) supports the production of 750 tons of coffea arabica on a land of 160 hectares in the West African country of Guinea.

The project will provide direct employment for 3000 people and generate revenue of more than 2 million euros. After the facility with a daily capacity of 1.5 tonnes is built in the second phase, the coffee to be produced will be put on the market under a new brand name.

In the first phase of the project, coffee production will begin on 160 hectares of land owned by the Mamou Coffee Growers’ Federation and its members, thanks to the fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation system and equipment, and other materials provided by TİKA. The first cherries will be harvested in 3 years. In the second phase, a facility covering the process from seed to cup will be put in operation in early 2021. Thanks to the packaging machine to be provided as part of the project, the products will be introduced to the Guinean market and other countries under a new brand name.

President of the Guinea Mamou Coffee Growers’ Federation Thierno Mamadou Wakka Diallo said, “The yield per hectare will increase from 2.4 tonnes to 3 tonnes with the support of TİKA. Coffea arabica species make up the majority of the coffee produced in the world. Coffee made from Arabica beans is more delicious than that made from Robusta beans. Arabica beans contain less caffeine but more flavor than Robusta beans. We can call coffea arabica the king of coffee species. As Mamou Coffee Growers, we aim to export more than 1,000 tonnes of coffee each year by 2022. When TİKA puts the coffee roasting, grinding, and packaging facility in operation next year, our revenue will increase threefold. It is because we sell coffee beans for $1.42 per kg; however, if we sold roast ground coffee in good packaging, we would sell it for $4.5 per kg. 3,000 families will earn income by producing coffee on 160 hectares of land. By grinding 500 tonnes of coffee beans, we will obtain 750 tonnes of coffea arabica.”

In his statement about the project and future projects, TİKA’s Guinea Coordinator Gökhan Keser said, “A new era begins in the agricultural sector in Guinea. We are moving from the period of increasing production, creating employment, and generating income to a period where production facilities will be discussed. At this point, we selected fields in which tens of thousands of tonnes of products are currently produced since we consider these fields to be worth establishing a facility. Coffee is one of these fields. Guinea has an important position in the production and export of coffee among African countries. In the facility that we will put into operation in early 2021, we will build a production line with a daily milling, roasting, grinding, and packaging capacity of 1.5 tonnes. We are working on the final stage of the packaging design. Similarly, we have completed the preparations for a pineapple-mango drying facility, a cashew roasting and packaging facility, and a palm kernel oil production facility. We are also preparing to build a facility for cattle breeding as part of a regional development project.”

The production of coffea arabica, which grows in tropical climates and is consumed widely around the world, provides livelihood to tens of thousands of families in the West African country of Guinea. In 2017, Guinea ranked 32^nd in FAO’s list of the world’s top coffee-producing countries by producing 19,000 tonnes of coffee on 40,000 hectares of land allocated to coffee production. In 2012, it ranked among the top 18 in FAO’s list of the world’s top coffee-exporting countries.