coffee cultivation and production A workshop for coffee cultivation and production conducted

To earn foreign currency and to have good potentials of commercial profitability for the entrepreneurs from the coffee cultivation and production, the ministry of agriculture, livestock and irrigation, department of agriculture and Myanmar coffee association have carried out the activities to expand the coffee cultivation and plantation.

On 29th September, the workshop for the development of coffee cultivation and production was conducted at the meeting hall of the Union Government Office.

The main purpose of the workshop is to expand the coffee cultivation areas and to achieve high yields and quality coffee, to practice systematically the post-harvest techniques and to access investments and markets. 

Director General, Department of agriculture, Dr.Ye Tint Tun, said " We should choose the right place and water to cultivate coffee and it is also necessary to have good soil. Coffee must be grown in suitable soil. In addition, temperature and weather conditions should be considered when growing coffee. We see the situation in the Arabica coffee plantation region where the pests is infested. As soon as our department becomes aware of this issue, we provide technical discussions and training courses on prevention methods and cooperation processes."

The coffee group was formed to improve the incomes of the farmers and to achieve high quality coffee and multiple value-added products, to cultivate and produce with modern technologies and to have good market competitiveness.

Secretary, Myanmar Coffee Association, Kyaw Hlaing, said " Since the coffee is the promising crop, we peruse and educate the farmers to expand the coffee acreage, to get high yield, to obtain high coffee quality. With the aid of USAID, specialty coffee production was kicked off in Myanmar in 2016 and started exporting to foreign countries and distributing to farmers."

Hopong Coffee Group, Khun Myo Nyunt, said " Coffee cultivation is a way of preserving the environment. You cannot grow coffee without shade. The coffee is maintained through organic farming methods. The foreign countries buy the coffee that has already tested for chemical residues. So, that is why we use organic method to grow coffee."

At the workshop, current coffee market situation, difficulties of coffee growers, difficulties along coffee value chain including preparing and milling, and technologies difficulties were discussed and entrepreneurs discussed how to produce value-added products with their opinions.

Myanmar coffee is being exported to Switzerland, Chinese Taipei, China, Thailand, US, UK, Iceland, Republic of Korea, Japan, Germany and UAE.