Cameroon has taken a significant step in improving the quality of its robusta coffee with the inauguration of its first center of excellence dedicated to post-harvest processing. The event took place on March 24, 2026, in Baditoum, in the East region, under the auspices of the Cocoa and Coffee Interprofessional Council (CICC).
This center is equipped with a fermentation room and drying areas specially designed to improve the quality of coffee cherries. The main objective is to enable producers to administer specific treatment to the coffee that will result in a superior product, capable of competing in niche markets.
Akanksa Gupta, an expert from the Specialty Coffee Association, emphasized the importance of this center, calling it "the beginning of specialty coffee production in Cameroon." Anselme Gouthon, president of the Association of Robusta Coffee of Africa and Madagascar (Acram), also welcomed the initiative, noting that improving quality will make it easier for producers to target niche markets and sell their coffee at a more advantageous price.
The CICC hopes to replicate the successes achieved in the cocoa sector through the construction of centers of excellence for cocoa. These centers have enabled cocoa producers to improve their incomes through partnerships with French chocolate makers who directly purchase the beans at agreed prices.
The quality of Cameroonian cocoa has already been recognized internationally, with a gold medal won at the 10th edition of the Cocoa of Excellence Awards in Amsterdam on February 20, 2026. In addition, Cameroon was co-opted into the club of "fine cocoa" producers in June 2023, joining a group previously reserved for South American countries.
This new center of excellence for robusta coffee is part of a broader dynamic aimed at promoting Cameroonian agricultural products on the international stage. It represents an important investment for the future of the coffee sector and for improving the incomes of producers.
