Organic Coffee
“ The choice, after all, is ours to make” Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
The diversity of plant and animal species in the world is
under major threat, and current estimates indicate that 70%
of the world’s species are under threat of extinction.
Many studies have revealed that the use of agricultural chemicals
has a widespread effect on global biodiversity. Millions of
birds are killed, millions of fish are killed, and in some
cases crop production has been known to drop due to the loss
of bees, killed by pesticides.
 Organic
agriculture promotes diversity and Uganda has excellent conditions
for organic production – in truth, among most of the
rural farmers there is no tradition of using chemicals; many
farms are organic by default. It is generally believed that
Uganda is the lowest consumer of agrochemicals in all of Africa.
The basic components of organic agriculture are two-fold:
care for nature’s fundamental functions and the idea
of global solidarity. The aim is to produce high-quality products
in a sustainable manner and to do so in a credible and reliable
way. At Kawacom, we respect the natural processes and behaviours
through the entire chain from farm to the final consumer,
from the coffee farmer here in Uganda to the coffee drinker
anywhere in the world.
But being organic in practice and being certified organic
are two different things.
By 1998, Uganda's potential as a major organic coffee-producing
nation was slowly being recognised. Kawacom, spearheading
the organic coffee movement in Uganda, launched an official
program of organic certification in Uganda's Western Bushenyi
District, in partnership with Krav Kontrol, and Agro Eco Consultancy.
Today more than 10,000 farmers from all over Uganda share
our vision for the future of organic coffee farming. And Uganda
is now the leading producer of organic coffee in Sub-Saharan
Africa.
A member of IFOAM (the International Federation of Organic
Agriculture Movements), Krav is actively involved in developing
the IFOAM standards and criteria. Based in Sweden, Krav is
also active in monitoring and influencing the EU standards
and legislation for organic production. These inspections
are done on-site at all certified farms on an annual basis.
In 2002, the three Kawacom projects were also approved as
organic by the Organic Crop Improvement Association (OCIA).
Kawacom is the first to export organic coffee from the country
and we continue to support the organic farmers in numerous
ways.
Kawacom Organic Coffee Certified By:
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