Sustainability Projects in Tanzania

We’re familiar with the current supply chain structure and the needs of our producing partners. Learn more about Sucafina Tanzania.

Sustainability has long been at the heart of the way Sucafina does business, which is underscored by our purpose: play a leading role in reshaping our industry and creating sustainable value for all stakeholders.

That’s why our group sustainability strategy plays an essential role in turning our origin goal into reality. Below you’ll find an overview of our three key pillars and the main focus areas we have identified.

Despite widespread cultivation and excellent growing conditions, Tanzania’s coffee industry is perceived differently than coffee neighboring countries like Kenya, Burundi, Uganda and Rwanda. Our goal is to support farmers as they increase quality and yields to help raise Tanzania’s coffee industry to the same level of renown as its neighbors.

Farmers are at the center of everything we do. In order to impact them directly, we collaborate closely with Agriculture Marketing Cooperative (AMCOS) and create strong relationships with them through sustainability projects.

Our ultimate goal is to increase coffee farmer incomes through improvements in quality, yield and the marketability of coffee. Sucafina plans to find a sustainable way to invest in Tanzanian farming communities and build long-term relationships with partner AMCOS.

We are currently helping to increase their coffees’ marketability by giving farmers access to a more sustainable market through certification. At the moment we’re reaching 7,000 farmers in Arabica and Robusta growing areas (Mbinga, Mbeya and Ngara) through Rainforest Alliance (RFA) and C.A.F.E. Practices (CP) certifications.

You can help us tackle these challenges through tangible investments. Below you’ll discover an overview of our projects and to which pillar it contributes specifically.

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Eco-pulpers for AMCOS | #InvestinginFarmers

The challenge

Sucafina Tanzania's sustainability projects focus on the farmer by maximizing coffee quality and yields to help them increase their livelihoods.

60% of Tanzanian Arabica is home processed and there’s a big variation in quality from lot to lot. A lack of access to training in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for farmers further affects quality.

Our AMCOS partners are working on improving coffee quality by centralizing processing at their wet mills. One hurdle that’s making it harder for AMCOS to process high-quality coffee is poor pulper quality. Many of their pulpers are older. Old pulpers that don’t work properly, can damage beans when pulped and use a lot of water. They also break down frequently and can delay timely cherry processing.

What we can do 

In order to raise the profile of Tanzanian coffee and ensure the hard work of farmers pays off, we can help AMCOS access a new eco-pulper, all while providing operational support and training members on best practices.

The impact

• Process more coffee at the Coffee Processing Unit (CPU). Increase volume and quality.
• Increase the chance of becoming RFA or CP certified. By increasing volumes, improving quality and being certified, farmers can receive a premium for their coffee which goes straight into their pockets; enabling them to take better care of their farms.
• Save water. Approximately 8-10L of water per kg of wet parchment is used during the pulping and washing process at the AMCOS. The eco-pulper will considerably reduce this amount to 1.5L per kg of wet parchment. 

Get involved

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Stumping Trees | #InvestinginFarmers

The challenge

Tanzanian coffee growers often experience low yield and one of the main causes is the age of their trees. In fact, 60% of the total coffee trees in the country are 20+ years old.

What we can do

Stump old trees. Because it takes 1-3 years for a tree to regenerate, we want to incentivize farmers to participate in our stumping program. By offering $0.50 per stumped tree and organizing GAP trainings hosted by a seasoned agronomist, we aim to encourage more farmers to participate. We also encourage farmers to plant legume seedlings on stumped land to diversify, fix nitrogen and increase the farmer’s income or their family’s diet.

The impact

• Increase yield up to 3 times. 
• Stumping has the potential to triple a farmer’s yields and thus, income, within three years.

Get involved

We have two program options that vary in size and reach.

Our smaller stumping pilot program focuses on what interventions are most individually effective in supporting farmers. This program supports at least 25 farmer members of partner AMCOS as they stump their trees (110 trees; 20% of total trees). An agronomist will also conduct soil analysis of their plot and share recommendations about fertilizer input and other farming practices.

This larger program is helping us develop an effective plan to scale up our stumping initiative. We’ll run this project at 115 farms and encourage them to stump 110 trees per year. With roaster support, we’ll begin trialing this program on a larger scale and work with more AMCOS in our supply chain.

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Analyzing Soil Health & Fertility | #ProtectingourPlanet

The challenge

Farmers apply fertilizers based on instinct and assumptions, rather than quantifiable knowledge. Constantly feeding crops synthetic fertilizer results in degrading soils, leading to inefficiency. This means that over time the dosage of synthetic fertilizer must increase to keep the plants well fed.

What we can do

Use high-quality Agrocares tools to accurately analyze the soil health on coffee farms surrounding our seven partner AMCOS. Support farmers through agronomic consulting and suggest the right input needed to improve soil quality based on results (carbon content, nutrient, pH level, etc).

The impact

• Farmers understand what inputs they should use and at which quantity.
• Reduces input costs for farmers because they will apply only what’s needed, and not more.
• Increase yields as farmers start understanding their soil health.

Based on the pilot project (30% of farmers from 7 different AMCOS), an intervention tailored to individual farms could lead to a minimum yield increase of about 280 MT of coffee cherry (based on an average farm size of 200 trees) across all 1,400 participating farms with an average yield increase of 1 kg per farmer per year.

Get involved

A single soil sample can make a big difference for a farmer's profitability and quality. With your help, our goal is to test soil on 1,400 farms in our network.