A Joint launching ceremony of Good Neighbors International (GNI) Nepal’s Coffee Value Chain Development Project and ICCO Cooperation’s Hamro Coffee Project was organized on May 3rd 2017. The ceremony was chaired by Her Excellency Ms. Rensje Teerink, Head of Delegation, European Union. Both projects are funded by the European Union.
Coffee Value Chain Development Project has the goal of reducing poverty and stimulating trade-led economic growth in coffee-growing districts of Kaski, Gulmi, Syangja and Palpa in Western Region through strengthening the competitiveness of small-scale coffee growers. Towards this end, Beautiful Coffee Nepal (BeaCoN), the project implementing partner will work with 60 Primary Coffee Cooperatives and four Union of Coffee Cooperatives in the four project districts. The expected outcomes of the project are:
- Increase in coverage, production, and productivity of organic coffee
- Institutionalization of coffee value chain and effective policy advocacy through capacity strengthening of institutions of coffee sector
- Improvement in marketing system of coffee at National and International level.
The ceremony commenced with a speech from Mr. Minho Choi, Country Director, GNI Nepal and it was followed by remarks from Mr. Bidyanath Bhurtel, Country Representative, ICCO Cooperation. Both of them elaborated on the objectives of and expectations from the projects.
Ms. Rensje Teerink stressed on promoting the recognition of coffee crop, which is a relatively new crop among farmers in Nepal but has a strong demand abroad. She also highlighted the aim of the projects: increased production and productivity of quality coffee, local cooperatives strengthening, development of local resources for coffee promotion, and promoting marketing to meet coffee demands in domestic as well as international market.
Other eminent participants were Ram Prasad Ghimire, Chairperson District Development Committee Palpa; Seshkant Gautam, Executive Director, Nepal Tea and Coffee Development Board; and Phool Kumar Lama, coffee trader.
The ceremony concluded with remarks from Joint Secretary of Ministry of Agricultural Development.
