Quality & Traceability

The incredible honey and coffee from these Afromontane forests needs to travel from the depths of the forest to the home of the collector or beekeeper, onwards to the cooperative and then to a buyer all while maintaining it’s quality and integrity. To achieve this the TRANSFORM project has introduced a traceability and quality assurance system that uses mobile phones to collect data at every step in the process. Using the free survey tool KoboToolbox, location and quality control data is collected and matched using unique ID codes to a register containing the information of the coffee collectors and beekeepers’ details. Using KoboToolbox allows for data to be collected at each point without the need of an internet connection and then the data can be uploaded and shared once a connection is established. This system allows information on quality, quantity, location and individuals to be tracked through their various processes. If an issue or inconsistencies should arise the system can be used to find the source of the problem and targeted interventions can be implemented. Thereby ensuring the quality of the products.

*A practical demonstration to cooperative members of how the mobile forms are to be entered in the field.*

*Comparing mobile data collection against the paper forms during a coffee harvest at one of the collection hubs in Giz Meret.*

*Discussions were held during the demonstration on how the systems vary and how the mobile data collection can be improved to better suit the needs of the cooperatives.*

As Ethiopia is a large exporter of both coffee and honey much of what is produced in this area will be sold for export. With recent changes to EU regulation, particularly in regard to coffee, forest product imports into Europe must demonstrate that their production did not contribute to deforestation.
Traceability allows the products to be traced from their final point of sale from their point of origin. Using our traceability system the products produced in this area can demonstrate their provenance and prove that the products come from the forests they claim. When combined with the biodiversity and forest conservation data collected by the project there is sufficient evidence to export the products to Europe.
The ability to sell their products to exporters with concrete data and traceability allows the cooperatives to demand a higher price for their products and pay more to their members for them.