Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Madagascar, Richard Randriamandrato, has announced that the Government of Madagascar will sign the International Coffee Agreement 2022 (ICA 2022) once it opens for signature in October 2022.
Randriamandrato met with International Coffee Organization (ICO) Executive Director Vanusia Nogueira at its London headquarters on 7 July.
There, Randriamandrato reinforced the existing cooperation between Madagascar and the ICO and lay the foundations for enhanced collaboration to further revitalise the Malagasy coffee sector.
Randriamandrato said prospects for increased collaboration with the ICO, in particular, its Coffee Public-Private Task Force (CPPTF), represent an opportunity for Madagascar.
“I am looking forward to concretising what we have discussed, especially regarding the ambition to have Madagascar as a future country of implementation of the CPPTF’s pilot projects,” says Randriamandrato.
Through its 2020-2030 Roadmap, the CPPTF pursues new commitments towards a prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive coffee sector. Most crucially, its pilot projects focus on promoting initiatives, such as targeted producer support programs, as a means of achieving social and economic progress in coffee-producing countries while protecting natural resources.
Nogueira called for the rapid appointment of a national focal point to enhance the country’s representation within the ICO’s activities, including those undertaken by the CPPTF. She also invited the Minister to the forthcoming 134th International Coffee Council session scheduled to take place in Bogota, Colombia, where the ICA 2022 will officially open for signature.
“I am looking forward to a strengthened and continuing cooperation between ICO and the Republic of Madagascar that will serve the best interests of the two sides, transforming the sector’s challenges into tremendous opportunities,” Nogueira said.
Madagascar is the 23rd largest coffee producer in the world, primarily a high-quality Robusta producer, and the country’s success with other high-value crops such as vanilla has created optimism that Arabica coffee cultivation will increase in the future, promoting the specialty coffee market. The country’s strong domestic consumption also represents a huge potential for value addition and supply chain development.
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