Coffee-processing company Salada Foods Jamaica Limited is partnering with the Jamaica Coffee Growers Association, JCGA, on a project to transform coffee waste into a farming input.
The Grounds for Growth initiative will repurpose Salada’s manufacturing byproducts, such as spent grounds, into organic fertilising material to improve the yield of coffee farmers.
Salada dumps about 240,000 pounds of spent coffee grounds from each of its four production runs annually.
Organic farmer and JCGA Vice-President Dorienne Rowan-Campbell says the project came out of a proposal first pitched by the association five years ago, but gained no traction then.
It recently raised the issue again, in search of a viable alternative for farmers who say the price they pay for fertiliser – which is currently retailing for $15,000 to $16,000 per 50-pound bag – was unprofitable for their farms.
“It’s crazy that they have to spend so much,” Rowan-Campbell said, after wrapping up a workshop with about 50 farmers in the Cornwall Barracks in Portland on Friday. It was the second of four workshops sponsored by Salada.
“Just about 100 pounds of this waste product, with another 50 pounds of chicken manure, will substitute for three bags of fertiliser,” she said.
The group of local small farmers participated in interactive demonstrations were trained in composting, using spent coffee grounds for improved yields; business management; and how to preserve gains from the more efficient use of inputs.
The sessions included representatives of the JCGA, the Rural Agricultural Development Authority, University of the West Indies and University of Technology, Jamaica.
“The use of this type of fertiliser has great potential,” said UTech lecturer Sharon Nelson. “We are participating from the business side to pass on the management skills, but I am seeing huge potential for research, because right out of the block, we are seeing great savings,” she said.
Salada Foods is Jamaica’s sole instant coffee-processing company, but does not grow its own beans. It’s therefore dependent on supplies from farmers and is a large buyer of the raw material.
Salada General Manager Tamii Brown says the viability of the coffee industry requires innovation, collaboration and action.
“Through this collaboration, we will support a cleaner, greener Jamaica, where coffee farmers, in particular, spend less to nourish their farms, and enhance the quality and quantity of production,” Brown said.
neville.graham@gleanerjm.com