🇰🇪 Kenya Coffee School (KCS)

Curriculum: Phytosanitary Certification & Global Coffee Trade Compliance

Program Title

Phytosanitary Certification & International Coffee Trade Compliance

Award

  • Kenya Coffee School Certificate / Diploma Module
  • Stackable toward: Coffee Quality, Export Management, Trade Compliance, and Value Addition Programs

Target Learners

  • Coffee farmers & cooperative leaders
  • Exporters & warehouse operators
  • Green coffee traders & exporters
  • County coffee officers
  • Youth entering coffee trade & logistics
  • Quality controllers & lab technicians

Program Rationale

Kenyan coffee is globally respected for quality, yet market access is lost not at cupping tables—but at borders.

This curriculum equips learners with plant health intelligence, regulatory literacy, and export readiness, ensuring Kenyan coffee:

  • Passes phytosanitary inspections worldwide
  • Avoids rejection, fumigation penalties, or destruction
  • Retains quality while meeting biosecurity rules
  • Trades competitively across Africa, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Americas & Oceania

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:

  1. Interpret global phytosanitary laws affecting coffee trade
  2. Apply Kenyan phytosanitary procedures correctly
  3. Prepare export-ready coffee consignments
  4. Navigate continent-specific import requirements
  5. Protect coffee quality while ensuring biosecurity compliance
  6. Train others (ToT-ready) on phytosanitary best practices

Module Structure

MODULE 1: Foundations of Phytosanitary Systems

Duration: 1 Week

Topics

  • Definition of phytosanitary certification
  • Plant health vs food safety (key distinction)
  • Pests of quarantine concern in coffee
  • Why coffee is regulated despite being roasted later

Global Framework

  • International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)
  • National Plant Protection Organizations (NPP0s)
  • Role of World Trade Organization SPS Agreement

Practical

  • Identify quarantine pests affecting coffee (CBD, Leaf Rust, storage pests)
  • Case studies of rejected consignments

MODULE 2: Kenya as Country of Origin – Legal & Institutional Framework

Duration: 1 Week

Topics

  • Kenya’s plant health legal framework
  • Role of Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS)
  • Coffee-specific inspection procedures
  • Linkage between factories, mills, warehouses & export points

Practical

  • Filling a phytosanitary application (Kenya format)
  • Pre-inspection checklist for coffee exporters

MODULE 3: Coffee Forms & Phytosanitary Risk Levels

Duration: 1 Week

Coffee Types Covered

  • Coffee cherries
  • Parchment coffee
  • Green (raw) coffee beans
  • Roasted coffee
  • Coffee husks & by-products

Topics

  • Risk profiling by coffee form
  • Storage pests and contamination pathways
  • Moisture, moulds, and live pest prevention

Practical

  • Risk assessment exercise per coffee form
  • Warehouse hygiene & pest control audit

MODULE 4: Export Preparation & Inspection Process

Duration: 2 Weeks

Topics

  • Export consignment assembly
  • Traceability & batch integrity
  • Sampling methods
  • Physical inspection & laboratory testing
  • Treatments: fumigation, cleaning, rejection

Practical

  • Mock inspection with checklist
  • Sample drawing and documentation
  • Packaging & container sanitation standards

MODULE 5: Continental Import Requirements (Global Focus)

Duration: 3 Weeks

Africa

  • Regional harmonization (EAC, COMESA, AfCFTA)
  • Transit risks & re-export rules

Europe (EU)

  • EU plant health regime
  • Zero tolerance pests
  • Documentation precision & traceability

Asia (China, Japan, Korea, India)

  • Pre-export approvals
  • Pest-free area declarations
  • Strict inspection thresholds

Middle East

  • Rapid clearance + strict paperwork
  • Heat & storage risk controls

Americas (USA, Canada, Latin America)

  • USDA & CFIA standards
  • Biosecurity enforcement & penalties

Oceania (Australia, New Zealand)

  • Highest biosecurity thresholds
  • Mandatory treatments & declarations

Practical

  • Comparative matrix: one Kenyan coffee → six continents
  • Compliance mapping exercise

MODULE 6: Quality Preservation vs Phytosanitary Compliance

Duration: 1 Week

Topics

  • Impact of fumigation on cup quality
  • Alternatives to chemical treatments
  • Preventive farm & factory hygiene
  • Circular economy approaches in pest control

Kenya Coffee School Approach

  • Prevention at source
  • Ecological & regenerative pest management
  • Low-cost solutions for smallholders

MODULE 7: Documentation, Ethics & Trade Integrity

Duration: 1 Week

Topics

  • Phytosanitary certificates as legal instruments
  • Fraud risks & consequences
  • Chain-of-custody ethics
  • Digital certification trends

Practical

  • Document verification drills
  • Border dispute simulations

MODULE 8: Capstone – Export Readiness Simulation

Duration: 2 Weeks

Project

Learners must:

  • Prepare a full export file for Kenyan green coffee
  • Select a destination continent
  • Demonstrate compliance from farm to port
  • Defend the consignment before a mock inspection panel

Assessment Methods

  • Written assessments
  • Practical inspections
  • Case study analysis
  • Capstone project
  • Peer & industry evaluation

Certification Outcome

Graduates are certified as:

Kenya Coffee School – Phytosanitary & Coffee Trade Compliance Specialists

They are competent to:

  • Work with exporters & cooperatives
  • Interface with inspection authorities
  • Reduce export rejections
  • Train farmers and processors
  • Support Kenya’s value-added coffee exports

Strategic Alignment