by Yuri Finch

Tanzania’s specialty coffee stakeholders have an opportunity to make their presence felt in the world market under a five year plan aimed at boosting the industry.

"Put Tanzania first and work together" was the message delivered by Ms Grace Mena, Chairman of the Specialty Coffee Association of Costa Rica (SCACR), and Mr. Francisco Mena, an Executive of Deli Café , a leading supplier of Costa Rican coffee to the world specialty market, at a stakeholders forum in Moshi, organized by TechnoServe/Tanzania mid October

Ms. Mena and her brother visited Moshi and Mbinga districts last week at the invitation of the Minister of Agriculture, Charles Keenja. The trip was organized by TechnoServe/Tanzania, an organization working to boost the incomes of over 4,500 smallholder farmers through production and marketing of specialty coffee.

The Menas’ trip follows an intensive three-day educational visit to Costa Rica by Minister Keenja and Mr. Leslie Omari, Director General of the Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB), in September.

"TechnoServe/Tanzania has been working with policy makers and industry leaders over the past year to identify ways to boost the specialty coffee sector," according to Thomas Dixon, Country Director. "The exchange between Tanzania and Costa Rica has provided an opportunity for Tanzania’s policy makers, producers and traders to learn how Costa Rica has successfully built a thriving and profitable specialty coffee industry. We are grateful to the Menas for offering their expertise to Tanzania."

In addition to high-level meetings with the Costa Rican Minister of Agriculture, Rodolfo Coto, and the Director of the Costa Rican Coffee Institute, William Portilla, the delegation from Tanzania met with local producers during their visit to Costa Rica. Juan Carlos Gamboa Zuniga, Director of Cooperatarrazu and Roberto Mata Naranjo, Director of Coopedota, provided tours and explanations of how their smallholder farmer groups have built successful, long-term contracts with leading international roasters such as Starbucks. During the three-day trip Minister Keenja and Mr. Omari gathered a wealth of information related to developing Tanzania’s specialty coffee industry.

During their trip to Tanzania, Grace and Francisco Mena have been impressed by the huge potential for Tanzania’s coffee industry. Ms. Mena praised a recent move by the government of Tanzania to permit direct export of specialty coffee.

The TCB announced new auction regulations on Tuesday, October 7^th. Ms. Mena commented, "This move will give Tanzanian specialty coffee greater transparency and traceability, two of the key requirements for marketing coffee to leading international roasters such as Starbucks and Peet’s Coffee & Tea. These buyers demand to know exactly where coffee originates and the price paid to farmers."

The Menas addressed the Tanganyika Coffee Growers Association (TCGA) on October 14^th telling the country’s leading coffee estates to concentrate on the four "Ts" of specialty coffee - Taste, Transparency, Traceability and Trust. On October 17^th, the Menas addressed a mixed gathering of TCB officers, TaCRI, exporters, millers, estates, cooperatives and smallholder farmers to encourage all stakeholders to work together to put Tanzanian specialty coffee on the map.

Founded in 1968, TechnoServe is a U.S.-based non-profit development organization currently working in 10 developing countries in Africa and Latin America and helping entrepreneurial men and women in poor rural areas to build businesses that create income, opportunity and economic growth for their families, their communities and their countries.

Based in Arusha, with offices in Dar es Salaam, Mbeya and Mbinga, TechnoService/Tanzania has been in operation since 1991.