Uganda: USADF Invests in Coffee Production

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United States African Development Foundation (Washington, DC)

PRESS RELEASE
28 August 2008
Posted to the web 28 August 2008

Washington, DC

The United States African Development Foundation will directly invest in the Gumutindo Coffee Co-operative Enterprise Ltd (GCCE), an organic and fair trade cooperative located in the rural area of Mbale Town, Uganda.

GCCE's focus is to sell coffee produced by its 7,500 member farmers located in the hilly and remote areas surrounding Mbale.

As market demand for higher quality, organic products increases, USADF President Lloyd Pierson stated, "USADF funds will allow GCCE to expand operations, thus providing consumers with a quality product and providing fair trade prices to farmers, improving the livelihoods of the Mt. Elgon farmers."

Established in May 1998, GCCE previously worked under the name Mbale Good Farmers Project, later changing its name to "Gumutindo", meaning "excellent quality". Since changing its name the business has improved production and marketing, steadily increasing profits. However, GCCE is currently unable to buy all the beans produced by its member farmers due to delays between harvesting, selling, and final payment. Additionally, the limited amount of bean cleaners, or pulpers, at the farmer level has constrained production, negatively impacting both farmers' income and GCCE's net profit.

The USADF grants will initially fund the purchase of additional pulpers needed to prepare raw coffee berries for processing, creating funds for local farmers to purchase their own pulpers, heightening individual ownership. Additional pulpers at the farmer level will increase productivity of beans to be sold to and marketing by GCCE. USADF will also facilitate the participation of GCCE's leadership in Fair Trade conventions, a strategy to increase market share of GCCE's products.

By the end of the five years, the cooperative is expected to nearly double its membership to 14,000 farmers involved with growing coffee. This growth will greatly expand economic growth and development to a much broader base of people in Mbale.

The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) is a United States Government agency dedicated to expanding access to economic opportunity in Africa. Currently USADF operates in 18 African nations. Over the past 25 years, USADF has directly funded nearly 1,100 African projects representing in excess of $150 million in support of African enterprises and local African communities. For more information on USADF, its programs and application guidelines, visit www.usadf.gov.

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