Climate-smart coffee production in the East African Community and export opportunities to the EU

This report summary outlines how climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices like agroforestry and mulching can help coffee producers in the East African Community (EAC) increase yields and meet the strict sustainability and certification requirements of the EU market, where exports from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda have grown by 60% over the last decade.

• Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices, specifically mulching and agroforestry, are identified as methods to increase coffee yields and export opportunities in the East African Community (EAC) while mitigating climate change risks.
• Coffee exports from EAC nations, specifically Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda, to the European Union (EU) have increased by approximately 60% over the last ten years, with auction-based business models being the most common.
• To access the expanding EU market, local growers must expand CSA practices to comply with sustainability certifications and requirements regarding quality, traceability, biodiversity conservation, social responsibility, packaging, labelling, and phytosanitary measures.

APA

Sitati, C., Kehbila, A., Lutta, A., Suljada, T., Osano, P., & Sunguti, E. M. (2024). Climate-smart coffee production in the East African Community and export opportunities to the EU. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/publications/coffee-eac-eu-export/

Chicago

Sitati, Cynthia, Anderson Kehbila, Alphayo Lutta, Timothy Suljada, Philip Osano, and Elizabeth Majani Sunguti. Climate-smart coffee production in the East African Community and export opportunities to the EU. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2024. https://www.sei.org/publications/coffee-eac-eu-export/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sitati |first1=Cynthia |last2=Kehbila |first2=Anderson |last3=Lutta |first3=Alphayo |last4=Suljada |first4=Timothy |last5=Osano |first5=Philip |last6=Sunguti |first6=Elizabeth Majani |title=Climate-smart coffee production in the East African Community and export opportunities to the EU |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=7 October 2024 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/coffee-eac-eu-export/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sitati2024climatesmart, author = {Sitati, Cynthia and Kehbila, Anderson and Lutta, Alphayo and Suljada, Timothy and Osano, Philip and Sunguti, Elizabeth Majani}, title = {{Climate-smart coffee production in the East African Community and export opportunities to the EU}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/coffee-eac-eu-export/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }