Member of the Month

March 2008: KASAMA COFFEE COMPANY (RIFT VALLEY HOLDINGS)

Background

Kasama Coffee Company (KCC) was started in 1978 by the Zambian government as a coffee initiative in its quest to diversify economic development and move away from a mono economy dependant almost exclusively on the copper mines for foreign exchange earnings.

The World Bank sponsored project was managed by a government quasi company known as RUCOM (Rural Community) Industries, consisting of two properties just north of the town of Kasama namely, Ngoli and Kateshi. A third one known as Isanya and adjacent to the town of Mbala at the southern tip of Lake Tanganyika was added by Zambia Coffee Company Limited (ZCCL), a government quasi company, which was formed in 1984 to exclusively run the two coffee properties at the time when Zambia joined the International Coffee Organisation (ICO).

The properties of Kateshi, Ngoli and Isanya estates are at altitudes ranging from 1,300 to 1,600 metres and between 9 and 10 degrees south of the equator. Annual rains of 1,200 millimetres fall from November to April.

In 1997, ZCCL was privatised and became part of African Plantations Company (APC). There was significant investment in irrigation and the area planted with coffee was expanded to 1,500 hectares. In 2002, APC was sold to Rift Valley Holdings (RVH) the present owner and the operation took on the current name of Kasama Coffee Company.

Progress and achievements

The relatively short rainy season and long dry season necessitates irrigation. Luckily irrigation water is plentiful. Of the 1,500 hectares, 900 are drip irrigated and the balance is irrigated using centre pivots.

Soils at KCC are deep, well drained sandy loams with mulch grown in the inter row where possible and composted coffee skins incorporated at planting to enrich the soils with organic materials.

Cherry is harvested from April to September each year. Each estate has a pulpery and produces quality washed parchment on site. Further processing is carried out at a central mill located on Kateshi Estate where the resident Quality Assurance Manager, Mr. Alexander Matimbi ensures buyers are offered lots of consistently high quality.

In the meantime, as only Catimor 129 has been identified as the Arabica variety highly tolerant to CBD, a replanting program based on this variety has been started. As soon as alternative varieties have been identified they will be incorporated in the replanting program

The coffees grown at KCC have a full bodied mildly acidic and balanced cup. Buyers move coffee south by road to the South African sea port of Durban or north by rail and road to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.

Since KCC took over, production reached a high of 3,000 metric tonnes in 2004. Most varieties of Arabica coffee grown in this area are very susceptible to the Coffee Berry Disease (CBD) and since 2004 production has steadily declined as plants age and CBD takes its toll.

Recognizing the impact of CBD, RVH set up the Rift Valley Research Company in 2004 under the guidance of Ms. Carole Hemmings a CBD expert. The primary function of RVRC was to improve control of CBD while searching for resistant Arabica varieties. In the four years of operation RVRC, in co-operation with CIRAD, has amassed an impressive collection of potentially resistant varieties.

The first screening trial will produce preliminary results in 2008/09. Additional varieties are constantly being added to the RVRC gene bank. In addition to their potential CBD resistance, varieties are selected for cup quality and yield using SL 28 as a benchmark. Thus in the very near future KCC will have a choice of CBD tolerant, high quality and high yielding varieties. All of the material at RVRC will be available to the Zambia coffee community. The new resistant varieties will be a significant boost for small holders in the area.

---

Select another Member of the Month

See other Members of the Month