Central Coffee Farmers’ Association (CECOFA) is a farmer-owned organization based in Kasese, Uganda, which purchases coffee from smallholder farmers, processes it, and sells it to buyers. CECOFA’s coffee is both Fairtrade and 4C certified, which established the quality and sustainability of their products and generated increasing demand in local and international markets. However, CECOFA faced challenges that hindered their ability to increase coffee production and sales. These obstacles included insufficient bulking facilities, unhygienic processing facilities, a lack of transportation to convey coffee from farmers to processing centers, and inadequate working capital.
To help mitigate these challenges, USADF awarded CECOFA a US$241K expansion grant in 2020. This grant supported them to upgrade their storage and processing facilities, purchase coffee grading equipment, and a 10-ton truck for coffee transportation. This funding also went towards training their farmers on topics including good agricultural practices and quality control, covering associated administrative costs, and acquiring technical assistance in finance, human resources, and other sectors.
As a result of this project, CECOFA successfully increased the quantity of raw coffee purchased from farmers by 159 percent, from 2.5M tons in 2019 to 6.5M tons in 2022. This corresponded with a 475 percent boost in their sales revenue, from US$299K (UGX 1,113,381,000) in 2019 to US$1.7M (UGX 6,401,797,000) in 2022. Additionally, the impact of this project benefitted more farmers, as CECOFA marked an increase in total membership from 3,664 farmers to 5,024 farmers by the end of the project.
CECOFA’s dedication to producing coffee in conditions that adhere to high environmental, economic, and social standards is paying off. Beyond the economic impacts of this project, the farmer members are experiencing improved livelihoods, which extends to their families, the Kasese community, and beyond. USADF is proud to support such initiatives, which embody the power of community-driven development.