Coffee: Lomé hosts the IACO’s annual meetings this year
Wednesday, 16 November 2022 18:42 
(Togo First) - This year, the Inter-African Coffee Organisation (IACO) is holding its annual meetings in Lomé. The five-day event was launched on November 14 by Togo’s Minister of Trade and Local Consumption, Kodjo Adedze.
"African coffee has a major role to play in our State's development. It will, if we can set up here, on the continent, all the chains of value that it generates," said Minister Adedze at the opening. "Unfortunately, Africa keeps exporting 2/3 of its production without added value and imports the equivalent of a third in the form of finished products, that is soluble coffee and ground coffee. It is therefore clear that the added value of African coffee production, or rather the sweat of our African sisters and brothers, benefits mainly foreign industries," he added.
Empowering women
This year’s meetings focus on growing female entrepreneurship in the coffee sector, as the theme picked is “Empowering Youth and Women in the African Coffee Industry”.
According to the Togolese Minister of Trade, this theme “sufficiently demonstrates that issues related to inclusion, women, and youth empowerment are important pillars for the revival of the coffee sector in Africa.”
Among others, stakeholders present will lay the foundations for strengthening women’s position in the coffee sector, which in Togo is one of the main cash crops.
Also, the meeting includes the High-Level Political Forum on Coffee, the 5th Scientific Conference on African Coffee, the 62nd General Assembly of the IACO, and the 10th African Coffee Symposium.
Togo does not only host the event this year, but it also chairs it as well and next year, a Togolese, Enselme Gouthon, will take over the International Coffee Council (ICO). Gouthon, who is currently the Executive Secretary of the Coordinating Committee for Coffee and Cocoa of Togo (CCFCC) and President of ACRAM (the Agency for Robusta Coffee of Africa and Madagascar), was appointed last month.
