Did you know Bangladesh is producing its own coffee?

The United States and Bangladesh, in a rare and praiseworthy move, are working together to cultivate the country’s coffee industry while empowering farmers in the Hill Tracts to earn higher profits.

US Ambassador Peter Haas and USAID Mission Director Kathryn Stevens on Wednesday (Aug 31) joined Government of Bangladesh officials and North End Coffee Roasters owner Rick Hubbard at Hotel Amari Dhaka to highlight a unique partnership with USAID and small-scale farmers in Bandarban to grow and sell coffee beans to North End.

“We also premiered a new short film featuring Ms. Zing Ping Mawi Bawm – a former jhum farmer practicing indigenous methods of growing multiple crops on small plots of land,” according to the USAID.

She is now a proud coffee producer earning higher profits, thanks to USAID-supported programs in the Chattogram HIll Tracts that connected farmers with buyers like North End Coffee Roasters and trained them to improve their coffee production techniques.

The event was attended by different section of people, including diplomats, government officials and editors of newspaper and TV channels.

With USAID support, over 8000 agricultural producers in Bandarban sold over US $4 million worth of major crops like, turmeric, pumpkin, papaya, ginger and banana in 2021, according to the Bangladesh fact sheet: USAID Programmes in Bangladesh.

In Bandarban, the USAID trained over 10,000 farmers to improve productivity, strengthen business planning, and access new markets.

The USAID also trained 200 indigenous coffee farmers to improve their growing techniques and sell high-quality coffee beans to North End Coffee Roasters, reads the fact sheet.  After five years of support, it said most of the producers working with USAID realized their first full harvest in 2021. Together, they sold a total of 520 kilograms of dried beans for total sales of Tk 218,000.

Moreover, The USAID trained over 28,000 women farmers in Bandarban from the ethnically diverse region to grow nutritious vegetables to feed their families and sell in local markets. Apart from these activities, the USAID empowers women artisans in Bandarban to improve the quality of their products and establish digital platforms to sell their goods.

In 2021, the USAID investment helped over one million farmers across Bangladesh improve yields, generating more than US $700 million in total sales, added the fact sheet.

Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque