Baraka Kasali quoted by FORBES on Congo Coffee and Cocoa

ENTREPRENEURS 5/31/2014 @ 9:00AM 852 views

In This Country Entrepreneurship Literally Runs On Chocolate And Coffee

In one of the most war-weary regions of the world, a new initiative is attempting to change a country’s brand from ‘conflict’ to ‘cocoa and coffee’.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been the site of umpteen bloody conflicts and continues to face widespread security, poverty and humanitarian issues. However a new collaborative campaign is looking to alleviate some of those problems by tutoring small-hold farmers in the east of the country in how to properly grow, harvest and prepare cash crops such as coffee and cocoa.

The initiative is relatively small at the moment. It is estimated that the country exported about 10,000 tonnes of coca and 8,000 tonnes of coffee last year – although cross-border smuggling in search of better prices means that official estimates are probably on the lower end of actual capabilities, according to Baraka Kasali, programme officer for the Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI), one of the partners in the agricultural entrepreneurship effort.

But there is significant potential – both in the DRC for expansion and internationally for use of the beans. It is estimated that six million Congolese micro-households produce around 80% of the country’s agricultural output, meaning there are many more farmers that could potentially benefit from the programme.

Looking at the international opportunity, the DRC was the world’s fourth-largest coffee producer in the seventies before issues of conflict, governance and price drove the sector down, Kasali says. Cocoa is much newer – having been introduced within the last 20 years. But the DRC has excellent climate and soil for cocoa production and can grow a top quality bean – if it is properly dried, fermented and processed.

Production has already increased from 600 tonnes in 2010 to present levels and the chocolate is proving to be a hit, says Joe Whinney, a founder of Theo Chocolates, an American chocolate company.

“The quality is outstanding. There are nutty and cocoa notes with slight fruit under-tones and a light acidity,” he says. “It was poorly fermented at first but we could tell it had a lot of potential.”

Fixing the issue of poor fermentation is the main part of the education and training initiative. ECI is working with other stakeholders such as the Christian Bilingual University of Congo (UCBC) and charity, ESCO-Kivu to teach farmers how to properly harvest, dry and ferment cocoa.

Proper technique can make a significant monetary difference in smallholders’ lives, says Kasali. “Farmers can get $3,800 per tonne of cocoa but that can drop to less than $2,000 if the post-harvest processing is bad,” he explains.

For both coffee and cocoa, ECI and its partners are also helping local farmers to form co-operatives and operate collective farming structures. These co-operatives make it easier for farmers to get their product onto the international market where it can fetch them the best prices.

It also helps them to overcome poor infrastructure and avoid some of the potential for bad supply-chain handling that can ruin cash crops in transit. “A little bit of moisture is all it takes for mould to spread and ruin it all,” says Kasali.

Fortunately the infrastructure outside of the DRC improves significantly – meaning that once product is moved across the border, much of the challenge has been dealt with. “The infrastructure has challenges but it’s been able to successfully ship out hundreds of tonnes from region,” says Whinney. “It’s one of the most secure supplies we have.” Theo Chocolates is now importing 640 tonnes of DRC cocoa for its chocolate – enough to make more than nine million bars.

Security in the region remains a concern, although the situation is improving, according to Kasali and Whinney.  “Improving the security of the area is to improve the capabilities of the army and police,” says Kasali. “As that continues to grow, people will have more confidence here.”

And as confidence grows, investment and entrepreneurship is likely to follow.