Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/763665
STiR coffee and tea 11 NEWS AFCA to Meet in Addis Ababa The African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA) will convene its 15th annual conference Feb. 15-17 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The theme of the 2017 African Fine Coffee Confer- ence and Exhibition is Reshaping African Coffee Industry for Productivity and Investments. Speakers include Roberio Silva, executive director of the International Coffee Association, the Ethiopian minister of agriculture, and natural resources and the prime minister of Ethiopia. Panels will discuss the African coffee market, the coffee industry in Ethiopia, the world coffee market, and What's New, Who's Who, and What is the Role for African Coffees, a presentation by Phil Schluter, managing director of Schluter SA. Presenters representing the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi and Cameroon will participate. The AFCA general meeting will be Thursday, Feb. 16 at the Millennium Hall the conference venue. A gender and youth workshop and opening reception open the conference on Tuesday, Feb. 14. Chairman Abdullah Bagersh in December assured members the event will precede with the support and assur- ances of the Ethiopian government. AFCA represents coffee producers in 11 member countries. Learn more: www.afca.coffee NCA Convention: Innovation Derreck Kayongo, c.e.o. of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights will keynote the National Coffee Association's 106th convention Mar. 23-25 in Austin, Tex. Scott Dikkers founder of The Onion will also appear. "It's a particularly challenging time for coffee, with pressures coming from new legislation, volatile markets, sustainability concerns, and complex regulatory chang- es," said NCA president William (Bill) Murray. The convention programming will give industry members the knowledge and perspective they need to turn those challenges into business-boosting opportunities, he said. Learn more: www.ncausa.org Fairtrade Names New C.E.O. In February Dario Soto Abril will take the reins at Fairtrade International. He is currently c.o.o., deputy director and legal counsel at The Trust for the America, a non-profit affiliated with the Organization of Ameri- can States. In a prepared release he said "It's both an exciting and challenging time, and together, we will maintain Fairtrade's growth path in making a better world for farmers and workers, while inspiring more businesses, governments and consumers to join us in our mission." Abril is from Colombia but was educated in the US. He earned degrees from Tulane University and Harvard. He worked for Price Waterhouse Coopers and is licensed to practic law in both the United States and Colombia.