Jamaica has organised December Coffee Festival
Are you likely to be in St Catherine in Jamaica on 2 December? (No, us neither. Ed) If so, why not swing by the Vanity Fair grounds in Linstead and check out the coffee festival which has been arranged there.
The Central St Catherine Coffee Growers Co-Operative Society has taken the initiative, according to reports in the local online press, to boost production and consumption of its coffee. The festival will also provide a useful venue for farmers to learn more about those organisations and individuals who can help them.
Some of the coffee producers will show their wares, including ‘coffee by-products’ such as coffee flavoured goods. These items range from coffee ice-cream and liqueur to cakes and a variety of sauces.
The organising co-operative society is one of the beneficiaries of funding from the Common Fund for Commodity and also the International Coffee Organisation, which kicked off in July last year. There were two other co-operatives which also benefitted from this funding.
The organisation of this Coffee Festival is not a one off event – in fact, it forms part of a three year project. The chairman of the Central St Catherine Co-operative has been quoted as commenting that the effects of their efforts are already becoming felt. Apparently, coffee farmers are going back to growing coffee crops and have upped their production levels. Another observation about coffee farming trends in the area is that there have been increased numbers of farmers who are choosing to join co-operatives.