Dimitra and Arasco Partner Up to Digitize Cameroon’s Coffee Supply Chain

Arasco was established as a trading company in 1987, and its name is derived from the family name of Müsteçep Aras, who acquired expertise in the trade through hands-on experience, from warehouse operations to business ownership. His passion for products, business, and cultural diversity has been a core aspect of our company since its inception.

Talk to Müsteçep about any product, and he’ll tell you its story. This expertise and dedication are fundamental to Arasco’s operations. With our team of specialists at Arasco, we consolidate further business development as a renowned trade company and supplier of nuts, seeds, spices, dried fruits, pulses, and grains. Together with our business partners, we strive for balanced growth, based on expert knowledge and long-term relationships around the world.

Dimitra is an agricultural technology company with an executive team that possesses over 35 years of experience in digitizing value chains across multi-tier supply chains globally. Since 2020, Dimitra has developed and implemented its platform in numerous global agricultural regions, providing valuable knowledge to farming communities. Dimitra’s platform addresses pressing challenges by offering a solution centered on compliance with the EU Deforestation Regulation through unmatched traceability features. By ensuring detailed tracking and reporting at every stage of the agricultural supply chain, the platform enhances operational efficiency and secures market access by demonstrating compliance with crucial sustainability and safety standards.

Dimitra Europe GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dimitra Incorporated, has collaborated with Arasco Food BV on a pilot project to achieve EUDR/CS3D compliance readiness for their coffee supply chain in Cameroon.

The primary objectives are to onboard 5000 farmers to the Dimitra mobile application Connected Coffee and train them to utilize Dimitra’s comprehensive tools.

The Connected Coffee platform is a multi-stakeholder platform that prioritizes grower productivity and supply chain management. The modules in scope include Farm Registration, Crop Management, Farmer Survey and Communication, and Data Acquisition. The goal is to rapidly scale the data work required to protect participation in EUDR/CS3D-regulated markets, thereby supporting Coffee Farmers, Coffee Collection- and Processing operators, Traders, Exporters, and other local coffee industry stakeholders.

The Dimitra/Arasco collaboration aims to prepare Cameroon coffee farming communities to supply EUDR-required data for supply chain mapping and farm level. Farm registration and training have commenced in the Littoral and West regions of Cameroon.

Dimitra’s platform will trace the physical flow of goods within the scope of EUDR from the farm to Arasco’s processing units and create due diligence reports accordingly. The platform will also ensure upstream traceability for Arasco, guaranteeing that every stage of the supply chain, from raw material procurement to product delivery, is transparent and compliant with EUDR.

Upon successful completion, Dimitra and Arasco will take further steps toward implementing full traceability and compliance across Arasco’s global supply chains.

Müsteçep Aras, CEO of Arasco, stated, “At Arasco Food BV, we are thrilled to announce our collaboration with Dimitra. This partnership represents a significant step forward in improving the socioeconomic conditions of thousands of farmers in Cameroon through digitization. By adopting the Connected Coffee app, we can enhance sustainable coffee production and trading in line with EUDR while supporting the local communities. We are excited to be part of this transformative journey and look forward to the positive impact it will bring.”

Andreas Cerdan, Director of Dimitra Europe, said, “Our Dimitra team is excited to be working with Arasco to prepare one of their key coffee origins for EUDR compliance. Rather than avoiding remote origins, Arasco takes this decisive step towards a fully digitized supply chain.”