Kagera Cooperative Union Aims To Double Coffee Collection To Boost Tanzanian Coffee Farmer's Livelihoods – CoffeeTalk

The Kagera Cooperative Union (KCU 1990 Ltd) is set to double its coffee collection in the 2025/26 season, aiming to improve farmers’ livelihoods and contribute significantly to the national economy. KCU Chairman, Mr Ressy Mashulano, announced that the union has set a target of collecting over 10 million kilogrammes of cherry coffee, a sharp rise from 4.9 million kilogrammes gathered in the 2024/25 season. The union collected 1.3 million kgs of organic coffee, against a target of 2.6 million kilogrammes.

To finance these ambitions, KCU plans to secure a 27bn/- loan from the Tanzania Agricultural Development Bank (TADB), 20bn/- of which will be used to purchase coffee from farmers, and 7bn/- allocated for the construction of a new Lake Hotel. During the 2024/25 season, KCU secured a 10.4bn/- loan from TADB and had repaid 11bn/-, including interest.

As a proud member of the Fair-Trade Organisation (FTO), KCU has been leveraging the fair-trade premium at various Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Societies (AMCOS) to fund local development initiatives, such as the construction of classrooms, health centres, and roads connecting rural areas to crop collection points. Fair Trade is a global movement involving over 3,000 grassroots organisations across more than 70 countries, ensuring that coffee farmers receive a fair, stable price that covers the cost of sustainable production.

KCU (1990) Ltd is a voluntary association comprising 125 AMCOS, representing more than 60,000 smallholder farmers, most of whom engage in Robusta coffee farming. The government, along with stakeholders including the Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB), Tanzania Coffee Research Institute (TACRI), Café Africa Tanzania, cooperative unions, and the private sector, is implementing a five-year strategic plan to raise coffee output from 78,000 metric tonnes to 300,000 metric tonnes.

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