IACO adopts coffee as a strategic commodity under the AU Agenda 2063

A press conference was held on Thursday, August 1st, 2024, at the Eilly International Hotel in Addis Ababa to officially announce the outcome of the G25 Kampala Declaration. This declaration, unanimously adopted by the AU Heads of State, “includes coffee as a strategic commodity in the AU Agenda 2063 and the inclusion of the Inter-African Coffee Organisation (IACO) as a designated specialized agency of the African Union.

The press conference was attended by notable dignitaries including Dr. Girma Amente, Ethiopian Minister of Agriculture and Chairman of the Inter-African Coffee Organisation (IACO), Ambassador Josefa Sacko, Acting Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) and Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment (ARBE), and Ambassador Solomon Rutega, Secretary General of IACO. Several local and international media representatives were also present, and a copy of the press release was presented.

The Inter-African Coffee Organisation (IACO) is pleased to announce the outcome of the 37^th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, held from February 18^th to 20^th, 2024, in Addis Ababa. At this session, the Kampala Declaration was unanimously adopted to “include coffee as a strategic commodity in the AU AGENDA 2063 and the inclusion of the Inter-African Coffee Organisation (IACO) as an AU-designated specialized agency of the African Union.

Before the AU Summit in February 2024, the Heads of State and Governments of the 25 African Coffee Producing Countries convened for the 2nd Session of the G25 African Coffee Summit in Kampala, Uganda, on August 8th, 2023, under the theme “Transforming the African Coffee Sector through Value Addition.” The main objectives of the summit were to:

• Continue to marshal consensus on declaring coffee as a strategic commodity in harmony with the AU Agenda 2063;
• Promote value addition and domestic consumption of coffee by educating people, particularly the youth, about coffee and its health benefits.
• Expand regional coffee trade within the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The summit, hosted under the leadership of His Excellency, Yoweri Museveni, the President of Uganda, noted with concern that while Africa is the birthplace of both Arabica and Robusta coffee, the sector is still plagued by low productivity and production, inequality in the coffee value chain, loss of economic benefits associated with low consumption (99% of coffee is exported in raw form), and the impending threats of climate change.

Of notable significance was the commitment expressed by the G25 African Heads of State to support the following initiatives:

1. Conduct research in coffee value addition to enable innovation and development of new products, generate new knowledge on best practices, improved technologies, and studies on varieties resilient to harsher climatic conditions, pests, and diseases.
2. Investment in value addition of coffee and its products and promote domestic coffee consumption.
3. Investment in vocational training in coffee for the youth and women for job creation.
4. Enhance access to finance for coffee value addition projects through the AU/AfCFTA framework and institutions, including the African Development Bank, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), and African Coffee Facility Fund.

The decision to adopt coffee as a strategic anchor commodity in the AU Agenda 2063 and the inclusion of the Inter-African Coffee Organisation (IACO) as an AU-designated specialized agency of the African Union is a historic milestone for the African coffee sector and a positive recognition of the important role coffee plays in the socio-economic transformation of the continent. It is also an acknowledgment that only by working as a continent shall we earn the leverage to overcome the challenges associated with value addition.

The Inter-African Coffee Organisation (IACO) is honored to be designated as the AU Specialized Agency and pledges to support and diligently execute the vision of transforming the African coffee sector through value addition.