There is limited access to adequately proven scientific technologies and innovations desperately needed by smallholder farmer grass-roots to boost their farm yield production. In order to effectively disseminate these technologies to end users; there is need for a dynamic, illustrious – interwoven farmer grass-roots and scientific research centers, cooperation based participatory appraisal. CoFET-Retreat (Oahu iSLAND) Hawai’i – USA is here, and thought to leverage this postulation; to construct such a scientific cooperation, and partnerships at different contributory development tiers between AFRICA and Hawai’i – USA to achieve that amiable global coffee order impressive to everyone. Although, the vision for CoFET-Retreat (Oahu iSLAND) Hawai’i – USA “enhanced inter-institutional scientific research cooperation between AFRICA and Hawai’i – USA” is principally yearning for a benefiting global coffee production system for all, it is not less improving scientific diplomatic relations between the two communities.
Background
Filed as CoFET-Retreat (Oahu iSLAND) Hawai’i – USA, in the State of Maryland, USA; is an entrepreneurial coffee science innovations and technologies exchange infrastructure, subsidiary to Africa Coffee Bureau, parent company.
It was inaugurated in Oahu Island on June 13, 2022, during the first CoFET-Retreat coffee science colloquium hosted by Hawai’i Agricultural Research Center (HARC).
Mission
To advance global coffee production systems sustainability through entrepreneurial leveraging of novel science and technologies pool exchange between AFRICA and Hawai’i – USA.
Vision
Enhanced inter-institutional scientific research cooperation between AFRICA and Hawai’i – USA on critical farm production constraints in global coffee systems for sustainable smallholder farmer livelihoods improvement.
Goal
To enhance superior quality coffee production responsive to higher premium niche market offers that translate into better standards of living among smallholder producers in AFRICA and Hawai’i – USA.
Justification and the Hypothesis
Farmers desperately need to be delivered working scientific recommendations to promptly mitigate emerging farm production constraints. CoFET-Retreat is here to just do that. It is our belief that Farmer Field School (FFS), a concept that was developed in the 1980s in Asia to strengthen farmer knowledge acquisition hands-on field-based training is still relevant. The FFS innovation was to enhance collaboration and experience sharing basing on farmer indigenous knowledge and the scientific technological innovations released from life science research establishments. For CoFET-Retreat, it’s envisioned to hasten core inter-institutional collaboration between coffee farming communities and scientific research system embellishments for amiable novel science decentralization to desperately waiting end-users at grassroots in AFRICA and Hawai’i – USA. CoFET-Retreat is grounded in, and so postulated to proliferate the Norman Borlaug wish “Take it to the Farmers”.
CoFET-Retreat innovation alignment is defined and based on the three theories (hypotheses) outlined below; we believe to regulate technology transfer.
Novelty
There exists novel science (brand new technologies) but, it is not rolled out where it’s desperately needed for use.
Scarcity
There exists indigenous and scientific knowledge (novel and improved technologies) but, it is deliberately not communicated or, there is lack of appropriate mechanisms to decentralize it to farmer-grassroots.
Scattered
There exists indigenous and scientific knowledge but, it is not evenly distributed and cannot be accessed easily by farmer-grassroots.
Our Business Offering
- Broker scientific cooperation: Facilitate core scientific cooperation, synergies and partnerships negotiations between AFRICA and Hawai’i – USA.
- Origin trips: Broker niche origin scientific and business trips for enhanced germplasm establishment tours, commodity Q-traceability on farms, and after science leisure safaris in high-end African tourist destinations.
- Broker farmer-science-business linkage: Leadership engagements, IP commercialization and scientific oriented capacity building missions between AFRICA and Hawai’i – USA.
Quick Achievements:
- Genetic resistance sources to coffee leaf rust bred in the Batian, an arabica coffee variety from KENYA (East Africa) introduced to the State of Hawai’i. Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR) is a fungal disease which exacerbates leaf fall in coffee plantations, and the impact it bears, is loss in yield and cup quality. It’s propagated by a fungus of genus Hemileia and species vastatrix. CLR is an insurgency in the state of Hawai’i.
- Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) and USDA-ARS Daniel K Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center (PBARC) are undertaking negotiation to formally permit incorporation of Batian in the Hawai’i coffee systems, a process CoFET-Retreat (Oahu iSLAND) Hawai’i – USA is proudly facilitating.
- January 2025; two Hawaiian coffee scientists based at the Hawaii Agricultural Research Center (HARC) in Waipahu, Oahu Island visited KALRO for strategic scientific research cooperation building purposes. This, and many more future activities are possible because of CoFET-Retreat (Oahu iSLAND) Hawai’i – USA’s vision to realize an “enhanced inter-institutional scientific research cooperation between AFRICA and Hawai’i – USA“.
Inaugural Institutions
The launch of CoFET-Retreat (Oahu iSLAND) Hawai’i – USA, at Hawai’i Agricultural Research Center (HARC) in June 2022 on Oahu Island Hawai’i, USA, pulled a number of distinct institutions and witnessed by;
