STiR coffee and tea magazine

20 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 6, 2019 (December / January 2020) The Smallholder Livelihoods Facility established by the bank would allow the Neumann Gruppe "to bring the power of the global financial markets – long the missing piece – to smallholder coffee farmers," said Cataline Eikenberg of the Neumann Gruppe's sustainability business unit. "We've set ourselves an ambitious goal and we're excited to make it happen." The loan facility is designed so that if a farmer defaults on a loan, BNP Paribas and partner banks would accept the loss. This risk sharing agreement works alongside default guarantees from the US Agency for International Develop- ment (USAID) and the Dutch Sustain- able Trade Initiative (IDH). Italy Simonelli backs SCA Research Simonelli Group, an Italian espresso machine manufacturer, is partnering with the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) as they start a four-year research project to develop a better understand- ing of the effects of variations in espresso extraction. The research starts in early 2020 and will be conducted as part of SCA's new Coffee Science Foundation (CSF). The Simonelli Group is the first major partner with the foundation. The Simonelli Group's donation to the CSF is the single largest contribution to date since the foundation was formally established in April 2019. The research project will use modern sensory analysis, measurement, data analysis, and consumer research tools to create a scientific understanding of espresso extraction standards, techniques, and the resulting impacts on brewed coffee flavor, according to an SCA statement. "Innovation and research are core values of our identity. Such values have driven the evolution of our espresso coffee machine and grinders for generations, contributing to building our coffee science knowledge," Fabio Ceccarani, c.e.o. of Simonelli Group, said in a statement. "It's now time for the next step. This partnership with CSF represents our deep commitment to the scientific process, our love for espresso, and our desire to understand it better. Learn more: coffeesciencefoundation.org. Kenya Regulators Face Opposition Recently announced government coffee production regulations are being opposed by several coffee cooperatives, according to published reports. The regulations, intended as a solution to Kenya's struggling coffee industry, are decried by grower coopera- tives as ill-advised and difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish. In the end, they say, coffee production and prices will suffer. The regulations, issued in July by country's Coffee Sector Task Force, are designed to stimulate production, officials said at the time. The program would monitor farmer cooperatives, ensure improved management practices and provide more support for farmers. Those cooperatives, however, disagree and are taking their objections to court to block the rules. The coopera- tives object to a timeline calling for the implementation of a digitized value chain system by 2020. They say the regulations would be too expensive at a time when prices already are depressed. And, they say they were not involved in creating the regulations even though they are principal stakeholders. Myanmar US Support Success Story A five-year agriculture program sup- ported with US dollars recently ended with about 40,000 farmers showing improvement in production and expansion of export markets. Now, a new initiative begins to push those accomplishments even further. The first program, funded with $27 million from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), supported the nation's coffee growers as well as farmers of other crops, according to reports. The Myanmar Coffee Association and other groups now will push ahead with efforts to sustain production levels and find additional markets. The United States will continue to finance the effort, giving $17 million a year as part of its Feed the Future Initiative. Myanmar now has about 50,000 acres of coffee trees and about 80 percent of those trees are Arabica plants. With coffee and other Myanmar agriculture products available in the United States, coffee exporters want to enter markets in Canada, Japan, Korea, and Europe. "With the help of USAID for farming techniques, best practices, machinery, and quality control, we are now able to export coffee to the US. Myanmar coffee is now listed as one of the world's best coffee brands. We can now arrange to export to European countries with the help of development agencies," said U Myo Aye, chairman of Myanmar Coffee Association. "Europe is a good export market for us while Japan and Korea are developed and populated countries with a high volume of coffee consumers. So, we are targeting these markets for further expansion," he said. Puerto Rico Nespresso Aids Puerto Rico Nespresso released its first Puerto Rican coffee recently as part of its Reviving Origins program. The rare coffee, Cafecito de Puerto Rico, was produced in cooperation with the Hispanic Federation to help restore the island's coffee crop. The nation's coffee industry was ravaged in 2017 when hurricanes Maria and Irma destroyed about 80% of the trees and harvest. Working with the federation, global non-profit TechnoServe, and other organizations, Nespresso committed $1 million as part of a three-year program to revitalize the industry. The initiative is intended to help 1,500 farmers with training and mentoring in agronomic and business skills. The goal is to help farmers improve the quality and quantity of crop yields and boost income. "Puerto Rico still needs our help, and it will take a tremendous effort from both private and public organizations to Coffee producing regions in Myanmar

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