Trade Minister on April 8, 2014 briefed the press on the stakes and challenges of the three-day coffee festival.

Some 21 localities in Cameroon will on May 29 to 31, 2014 play host to activities marking the second edition of the international coffee festival code-named, "Festicoffee." Placed under the theme, "Coffee: The Revival," the three-day show which will comprise brainwork on how to revamp research, production, processing and local consumption, will take place simultaneously with related activities in the capitals of eight other African countries like Abidjan, Bangui, Lagos, Libreville, Antananarivo, Freetown, Lome and Monrovia. The event patronised by the Ministry of Trade is jointly organised by the Cocoa and Coffee Interprofessional Council (CICC) and the Agency of Robusta Coffee of Africa and Madagascar (ACRAM).

Briefing the press yesterday April 8 on the stakes and challenges of the show, the Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, accompanied by his colleague of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, said coffee is one of the main export produce of Cameroon and plays a significant role in the socio-economic life of the country. In the midst of dwindling fortunes characterised by low production, the Minister said, there is need to galvanise all stakeholders to stand the test of time. Reason why the theme, he said, focuses on revival. Statistics show that national production last farming season was in the neighbourhood of 16,142 metric tons down from the 38,127 metric tons a year earlier. Minister Mbarga Atangana disclosed that the show will comprise coffee testing day on the theme, "Let's consume our good coffee," operators' debates and farmers' forum on "How to produce more coffee," trade fair, researchers symposium on Robusta coffee, an ACRAM general assembly and a gala evening to reward excellent coffee stakeholders.

According to Michael Ndoping, Managing Director of the National Cocoa and

Coffee Board, the focus on production and consumption is based on the belief that consumption encourages the farmers to produce more. "The tendency in the past has been to produce for the foreign market but we think that there is potential for local consumption. Today, it is proven that coffee is a health product. Beyond that, it is a major commercial produce as it is one of the most traded commodity around the world" he said. Mr Ndoping noted that there is immense potential around coffee and it is fantastic what can be done around the value chain. "It will be sad that Cameroon that has these potentials will be lagging behind whereas others are taking advantage of it. We hope that this event will put coffee at a better light and encourage the various actors to take it more seriously to create employment and generate income," he said.