ICO, others ask for coffee policy

FMITI promises rebirth

The visiting Executive Director, International Coffee Organization (ICO), Mr. Jose Sette has joined other stakeholders in Nigeria to demand for national policy on coffee that will galvanise the neglected crop towards wealth and more economic empowerment of farmers just as  the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI) immediately promised to call for a rebirth conference in order to reposition the crop to more economy viability.

Mr. Sette who hammered on the need for nation policy to drive the produce at one of the conference rooms of FMITI yesterday said that his organization would be ready to give technical support to the better repositioning of the crop through assistance to National Coffee and Tea Association of Nigeria (NACOFTAN) adding that wealth would be more created along the value chains as soon as awareness to more consumption and production of the produce are increased in the country.

Following the call for national policy, the National Assembly member from Taraba state, Senator Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf also stressed the need for why a working document with well guided statistics must be put in place by both the government and private sectors, pointed that the policy paper is what the legislative arms of government would work with towards a better legislation for the crop at all the value chains.

Sen. Yusuf who lamented on why Nigerian coffee is yet to be domesticated in the ICO being the second largest traded commodity in the world market after oil, pointed that effort would be made to represent the bill on coffee that could not get to public hearing level after passing through the first and second readings of the last 9^th National Assembly, thereby promised that the bill would be represented for signing by the executive.

The Secretary General (SG) of the Federation of Commodity Associations of Nigeria (FACAN) Dr. Bello Dongodangi apart from stressing on need for national policy also admonished NACOFTAN to be more organised and very responsive to meeting demand for coffee consumption considering 200 million populations of the country.

Dogodangi however advocated for improved seeds through government intervention and inputs for post harvest handling and processing for farmers, therefore asked the association to leverage on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) anchor borrower programme to attract financial support like other crops.   

The two females off takers among the farmers also lamented on non availability of quality coffee as they both wanted new improved varieties of seeds for the replacement of the old ones for better commercial yield to meet demand.

Miss Mary Jean Igbu said she usually buy in large quantities which many of them got spoilt during storage  as there was only one season of harvest adding that ‘’ i get order that i cannot meet and farmers need training for capacity ’.’ Also Princess Adeyinka Tekenah, also an off taker wanted more improved technologies where there will be interface  with both farmers and off takers’’ saying this would enhance the value chain system of the crop in terms of needs and production.

All other farmers present all pointed that coffee farming in Nigeria has been relegated due to non support in terms of improved seeds and other inputs that could give encouragement, thereby querying why Nestle Nigeria Plc  would be leaving them behind to be training  200,000 of their counterparts in  Cote d’ Ivoire.

However, the FMITI through its Director of Commodity Protection Inspectorate, Mrs. Opeoluwa Opeewe has therefore declared a conference for the rebirth of the crop where all stakeholders from both the private and public sectors will be brought together to chat a way forward for the crop adding that both Nestle and other off takers shall all be invited to interface with farmers.