illycaffè and UNIDO partner to improve value chain in Mozambique

Illycaffè, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) have undersigned a public-private partnership to implement a project which aims is to promote the agricultural value chain in Mozambique, including coffee. Illycaffè says the project will boost the income of local small-scale farmers in the area of the Quirimbas National Park in Cabo Delgado province by improving the technical and entrepreneurial skills of students from the Bilibiza Agrarian Institute. These skills are vital for their active participation in the development of sustainable production, improved processing, and more effective marketing. The public-private partnership, funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, was signed on 24 January at UNIDO headquarters by UNIDO Director General Li Yong and Giorgio Marrapodi, Director of the Italian Foreign Ministry’s Agency for Development Cooperation, with Anna Illy in attendance. Illycaffè will make available its agronomists and the know-how of the University of Coffee and of Fondazione Ernesto Illy to assist the Agrarian Institute and organise a course on sustainable coffee production. This will be an experimental course on the cultivation of the Racemosa coffee bean, a wild and extremely rare species that grows along the coast of eastern Africa. Strong and resistant to disease, Racemosa is naturally low in caffeine. With a minty aftertaste, this coffee’s flavour is characterised by caramel and liquorice, with bitter notes and a hint of toasted bread. The project will contribute to supporting the dissemination of coffee farming in Mozambique, improving the diversification of local agricultural projects and providing the opportunity to introduce the Racemosa coffee on the market. The cultivation of Racemosa coffee will be extended to the island of Ibo – part of the Quirimbas archipelago – and to areas in the interior of Mozambique, where illycaffè’s technicians and agronomists will provide the necessary training and support to plant new seedlings and ensure their sustainable cultivation. Mozambique is a priority country for the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, which aims to contribute to the global effort to alleviate poverty through activities that promote peace, the upholding of basic rights, and sustainable development.