USAID Trains Junior Cuppers: Nicaragua

In another one of its diverse training courses, USAID trained twenty young sons and daughters of Nicaraguan coffee producers as 'Junior Cuppers'.

• The program taught the junior cuppers how to evaluate the taste and aroma of coffee;
• This skill has enabled these teenagers to provide valuable quality control and technical advice to their families as well as the coffee-growing community.

The Junior Cuppers come from coffee producing families who are:

• Members of one of seven farmers' organizations receiving support through USAID's $1.7 million Quality Coffee Program;
• Small and medium scale producers who are trying to sell their products in the higher paying specialty and organic coffee market.

USAID's Quality Coffee Program, which began in 2003, has:

• Enabled 2000 coffee growers who are participants in the program, to export 345,000 pounds of specialty coffee;
• Supported the following faith-based organizations World Relief, Catholic Relief Services, and Lutheran World Relief, which promote marketing campaigns in the United States for the coffee producers in the program.

USAID also began a similar program with the Cooperative League of the United States of America (CLUSA). The USAID/CLUSA program has funded twenty-one laboratories and trained sixty-five Junior Cuppers.

USAID's programs have proven to effectively link producers, buyers, and consumers.