THE government has pledged to ensure that coffee farmers get 75 per cent of the world prices for their produce.

“By doing so it will motivate farmers to produce quality coffee as per government’s target of 120,000 tonnes come next year,” the Minister for East Africa Co-operation, Diodorus Kamala, said.
 
He praised the Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB) for its efforts which have led to the increase of coffee production in the country.
 
Kamala said this at the weekend when he visited the TCB offices for a briefing on the board's day-to-day activities.
 
“I have been very much impressed by your performance... may I take this opportunity to congratulate and urge you to do more,” he said.
 
TCB Director General, Adolf Kumburu, said coffee production in the country has increased from 34,334 tonnes in 2005/2006 to 68,050 tonnes in 2008/2009.
 
“This achievement is the result of good cooperation between our board and other coffee stakeholders who include the Tanzania Coffee Research Institute (TaCRI) and the local government authorities in districts engaged in coffee farming in the country,” he said.
 
He said that the quality of coffee produced also increased from 32 per cent in 2002/2003 to 56 per cent in 2007/2008.

To improve the quality of coffee, he said the board is mobilising farmers to build more central pulperies, which have so far increased from 125 in 2003/2004 to 250 in 2007/2008.
 
The percentage of local coffee consumption, he said, has increased from two per cent in 2003 to three  per cent in 2008.

He said to increase the local consumption of coffee the board is now mobilising coffee stakeholders to open coffee bars throughout the country