Prime Minister of Togo, Voctoire Tomegah, plans to invest $18.5 million to reinforce the country's coffee sector.
West African coffee producer Togo aims to increase its robusta production to at least 50,000 tonnes by the end of 2030.
The country’s council of ministers, chaired by Prime Minister Victoire Tomegah, said in a statement on 05 November 2024 that the Togolese government is committed to achieving better prices for coffee farmers and other actors in the country’s coffee supply chain and spurring interest in coffee farming and trade.
“In Togo, the priority remains the sustainable improvement of living conditions of producers and the profitability for all actors in the chain, for a professionalized, competitive and efficient coffee growing, creation of wealth and decent jobs, particularly in rural areas,” said Tomegah.
Previously, the government indicated that Togo plans to invest at least $18.5 million in coffee production, slightly higher than the $16.3 million intended for cocoa production, another key economic industry.
Financing
“It is in this logic that the ministry responsible for agriculture welcomes these national development plans, which will ultimately make it possible to mobilize financing for structuring projects in order to revitalize the coffee and cocoa sectors, by making them sustainable, economically profitable for all stakeholders and particularly for producers,” said the Chief of Staff of the ministry in charge of agriculture, Konlani Dindiogue at a coffee and cocoa workshop organized in October 2024 by the government, together with the Coordination Committee for the Coffee and Cocoa Sectors (CCFCC).
Dindiogue said the focus would be on effective farm maintenance with adequate and proper fertilizer application in coffee farms and rehabilitation of old coffee plantations through coppicing.
Export
Rehabilitation of aging coffee farms and effective use of farm inputs are expected to increase Togo’s total coffee output and export volumes.
The country’s coffee production was estimated at 27,330 tonnes in 2023, up from 10,950 tonnes in 2013, a nearly 150% increase over the 10-year coffee marketing period according to official government reports.
This increase is commendable, considering recent output is far above the 15,240 tonnes Togo produced in the 1980s which declined to 10,800 tonnes in the 1990s. The International Coffee Organization (ICO) attributes the decline in coffee production to a “lack of investment in the sector as farmers have switched production to alternative crops with higher income-earning potential, leading to an aging coffee tree profile.”
However, Togo’s coffee exports for the 12 months between March 2023 and February 2024 increased to 60,000 bags (60kgs), up from the 50,883 bags exported from March 2022 to February 2023.
Private sector
This increase in production and export volumes has been attributed to the current government and private sector efforts to strengthen the coffee reforms Togo launched in 1996 but which weakened with time due to the socio-economic challenges that the country has grappled with recently, such as terrorist attacks, poor governance, unstable economic growth, and exposure to external financial shocks.
The coffee reforms included the establishment of the Coordination Committee for Coffee and Cocoa Sectors (CCFCC) to oversee the liberalization and regulate the coffee industry, a responsibility formerly held by Office des Produits Agricoles du Togo (OPAT).
Companies
Furthermore, the reforms paved the way for the entry of new coffee buyers and exporters. The country’s current coffee market is dominated by STCP, Yentoumi, Olam, and Banamba, which account for between 50% to 80% of all Togo’s exports.
Togo needs to build on the existing coffee sector reforms backed by adequate financing if it is to achieve the target of doubling coffee output within the remaining five years.