EU, CSIR hold two-day workshop on coffee production in Ghana

International Trade Center, CSIR hold two-day workshop on coffee production in Ghana.

With the aim of providing support for Ghana’s coffee value chain, the International Trade Centre under its EU/ACP Programme has organised a two-day workshop for stakeholders in the country.

The two-day workshop which commenced on Thursday, April 20, 2023, is being organised in collaboration with the Food Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and the Basque Culinary Centre in Spain.

Speaking to the media at the beginning of the program, the ACP Coffee Program National Coordinator, Christopher Tenga said the idea behind the workshop is to “look at culinary strategies, product development, innovations and developing recipes, products and prototypes from made in Ghana Robusta Coffee because we believe that if we want to develop the coffee industry in Ghana, we need to diversify, we need to focus on value addition and domestic consumption.”

He expressed hope that the workshop will achieve long-term results through further engagement with SMEs and stakeholders.

The Director of CSIR Food Research Institute, Professor Charles Tortoe on his part noted that the objective of the workshop falls in line with the aim of making coffee one of the non -traditional export commodities for Ghana.

“With support from the International Trade Centre, Alliance for Action, we are bringing on board coffee in terms of making it one of the non-tradition exported crops. So today’s workshop is looking at the value addition in terms of coffee and we are bringing that to the doorsteps of our farmers and processors. So that at the end of the day, we can have coffee exported from Ghana as a product which is processed for our export commodities and in addition gain more in terms of foreign exchange,” he said.

On the role being played by the Food Research Institute in promoting coffee, Prof. Tortoe said the institution is strategically positioned to help address the challenges confronting the coffee industry and remains committed to pursuing that.

Participants in the workshop include coffee farmers, investors and other stakeholders such as the Ghana Chefs Association.

Sharing her expectations about the workshop, the President of Sustainable Coffee Farmers, Association, Benedicta Tamakloe said the two-day event will go a long way to help improve penetration of coffee consumption in the Ghanaian market which is a big challenge to the industry.

“This programme has come in handy for us, especially for us processors within the coffee value chain. We continue to have challenges with getting Ghanaians to buy into coffee as a healthy product as a result of the myths that come with it. So this workshop that seeks to use coffee to create various recipes using local ingredients and local products that Ghanaians are used to, would help us to get beyond the myth, get them to consume and maybe become regular consumers to benefit the processors and farmers,” she stated.



Isaac Sackey, the President of the Ghana Chefs Association expressed happiness about the knowledge he has acquired about product development using coffee, from the workshop.

“Most companies normally develop products without engaging consumers. But participating in this workshop, I have learnt that we need to try to incorporate and involve everybody within the value chain,” he noted.


As part of the workshop, an exhibition of various coffee recipes and products developed through innovation to target both the local and international markets was held.

Background of the EU/ACP Programme

The “Support to Business Friendly and Inclusive National and Regional Policies, and Strengthening Productive Capabilities and Value Chains” Programme aims to complement the European Union support for private sector development in ACP countries, with a major focus on the development of agriculture and agri-business value chains.

In Ghana and in partnership with ACRAM which is the regional agency of robusta producing countries in Africa and Madagascar, the programme focuses on revamping the coffee sector by providing support to coffee VC actors, farmer cooperatives, and support institutions through; capacity building trainings on good agricultural practices, harvesting techniques, coffee farm establishment, etc to enhance the productive capacities of farmers.

Value addition enhancement through the organisation of workshops on coffee roasting/cupping/coffee shop management and; Market development – participation of coffee MSMEs in international coffee fairs for B2B/B2C opportunities.