Why is KG coffee so good?
Kingdom Growers coffee earns high ratings for a reason: We train and equip the farmers.Men and women join the Cooperative not only to gain access to United States markets but also to learn about better agricultural practices. And we have plenty of knowledge and resources to impart.Coffee plants have life spans roughly 25 years. During that time, they face challenges from pests to diseases to lack of productivity. Farmers must learn how to read their crops and meet the plants’ wide variety of needs. Cultivadores del Reino, the Honduran cooperative, helps them sufficiently nurture these crops through:
- Training—Group trainings are held at intervals during the farming season to teach various aspects of coffee farming. The topics include fertilization, pruning, insect management, disease management and general care. Farmers learn when to use certain fertilizers and how to battle pest and disease combinations. Coffee care is a constant and nuanced process.
- Consultation—The Honduran Coffee Institute has trained German, one of KG’s Honduran agricultural instructors, for a role similar to that of an extension agent. He regularly works in farming communities and helps individual farmers solve specific problems.
- Connection to Experts—Even with German’s training, problems in coffee fields can become so complex farmers need help from additional experts. Cultivadores maintains a relationship with the Honduran Coffee Institute so experts are readily available when difficult problems arise. Individual farmers can have difficulty maintaining such a relationship alone.
- Supplies—When coffee prices dip, farming families often must stop fertilizer regiments because they need the money to meet living expenses. This, unfortunately, prolongs low-income generation. Unfertilized plants don’t produce as much as well-nourished ones, so when coffee prices improve, the family’s fields haven’t produced enough to meet their living expenses.To solve this problem, the Cooperative maintains a micro-finance fund that provides fertilizer when needed. Farmers secure their loans on the following season’s crops. This way, Cooperative members maintain crop volume while also meeting their families’ needs.
The Cooperative does whatever it can to help the farmers succeed, which means growers can better provide for their families. And, of course, it means higher quality coffee gets poured into your cup each day.