In Côte d’Ivoire, our extension officers started working with 13,000 farmers through 40 cooperatives to provide high-yielding, climate-resilient coffee seedlings from dedicated nurseries.
Our coffee sustainability strategy hinges on encouraging farmers to grow coffee along with other crops like cocoa, rubber and palm, to diversify their income and reinforce their livelihood.
In Côte d’Ivoire, our extension officers started working with 13,000 farmers through 40 cooperatives to provide high-yielding, climate-resilient coffee seedlings from dedicated nurseries and through 120 farmer field schools along with 19 demo plots, they can train these farmers on good agricultural practices.
With the support of these extension field officers, 742 hectares of coffee plantations have been sustainably rejuvenated by naturally improving soil fertility and intercropping to address food supply. Yields have increased from 250kg/hectare to 430kg/hectare which has also resulted in the creation of 2,500 hectares of new coffee plantations.
As a result, coffee farmers are reaping rich rewards at the farmer level with added premium from becoming 4C certified.
“It is thanks to the coffee that I have built my house and schooled my children. OutSpan nursery support allowed me to increase my production,” Kablan Suzanne, 56 years-old mother-of-5, with 2 hectares of a coffee plantation in SOKAEK in Bianouan/Aboisso Region.