Fair trade coffee: A new dawn for farmers

The cries of Rwandan coffee farmers seem to be coming to an end. With the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative (CHDI), farmers have gained hope, poise and probably, poverty will be history. Coffee farmers organised in two cooperatives, Coopac and Misozi, disclosed that since the initiative, the coffee production output has increased significantly. They were loaned $23,000 (Frw12.5 million) in 2007 to support improvements to coffee washing stations and provide technical and marketing support to the coffee farmers. The programme has not only registered an increase in their production but also their incomes and they are now repaying the loan. CHDI was jointly founded by former US president, Bill Clinton and Sir Tom Hunter, a Scottish philanthropist billionaire. The initiative began in 2007 with about 6,500 Rwandan coffee farmers out of over 500,000, Having recognised the significant potential for Rwandan coffee. The programme was to help strengthen their organisations through expansion, and ultimately increase sales. The coffee is roasted, grounded and packed in Scotland with the funding of CHDI funds. This coffee is being stocked and sold directly to retailers such as Sainsbury’s in the United Kingdom among other coffee shops and supermarkets. CHDI also came up with a new brand of fair trade coffee, ‘Rwandan Farmers’ which is owned by the coffee farmers themselves. This has increased the farmers’ coffee sales by over 30 per cent, at an average price of $3.7 (Frw2,000) per kilogramme. “A lot of frustrations have been over came and now, production, sales and profits have increased unlike before when middlemen set their own prices that reduced our profits,” explained Costazia Nyirandekwe, one of the farmers who met with Clinton. Clinton, also a CHDI founding member, confirmed that ‘Rwandan Farmers’ is a unique brand, whose profits are all returned to the very people who toil daily in the fields. The coffee obtained a fair-trade certification that guarantees farmers fair returns. The certification derives from an organised social movement and market-based approach to alleviating global poverty and promoting sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods. Fair trade’s strategic intent is to work with marginalised producers and workers in order to help them move from a position of vulnerability to security and economic self-sufficiency. It also aims at empowering them to become stakeholders in their own organisations and actively play a wider role in the global arena to achieve greater equity in international trade. Members of the beneficiary cooperatives say the programme helped to simplify the supply chain costs, thus saving money and increasing profits. “When the money is received through the trusted fund, it is expected that it will be invested in ventures beneficial to all organisation members and the community at large,” said a member of Misozi. Some of the possible investment ventures include education of their children, construction of schools, healthcare centres and further investment in the coffee business. Alex Kanyankole, the OCIR-Café Director General, disclosed that the ‘Rwanda Coffee’ is expected to be marketed in US come September during the Clinton Global Initiative—thus expanding its market and bringing about a further increase in profits. “This is expected to increase the number of cooperatives to sustain the increasing demand.” Ends