Uganda coffee farmers reap benefits of fair trade

The cultivation of coffee for fair trade has turned the fortunes of this historical cash crop around in some poor rural areas on the slopes of Mount Elgon in eastern Uganda.

The east African country’s government liberalised the coffee export market in 1990s, attracting many coffee buyers to the Arabica coffee-growing districts.

Increased competition went hand in hand with cash payments to farmers from the sale of coffee, as opposed to the old system where they had to wait for cooperatives to pay them.

Nevertheless, the prices remained low at 0.35 dollars for one kilogramme of coffee and farmers could not break even.

Some farmers lost interest in coffee cultivation while others started to cut corners. The coffee was not pulped well; it was mixed with husks and sand to increase weight.

Concerned about the decline in the quality and quantity of the historical cash crop, some former staff and members of the Bugisu Cooperative Union formed Gumutindo Cooperative Trading and adopted fair trade rules.

Gumutindo means quality in the native language of the Arabica coffee - growing tribe that lives on the slopes of Mount Elgon in eastern Uganda.

Sam Magona, one of the founders of Gumutindo, told IPS that by joining the fair trade movement they wanted to reclaim the reputation of Ugandan Arabica coffee on the world market and to ensure that farmers got higher prices for their produce.

Gumutindo has since established it own warehouse in Mbale, some 300 km east of Uganda’s capital Kampala.

It is affiliated to the British-based Fairtrade Foundation and exports organic coffee to Café Direct Plc and Trade Aid, among others.

Magona told IPS that, “fair trade practices sensitise farmers by reminding them of the things they know about coffee. Everyone growing coffee knows how to produce good quality coffee but they had neglected these practices. Fair trade has given the farmers better prices for their coffee. So they are able to solve most of their problems.”

Apart from paying higher prices, Gumutindo provides a social premium with each kilogramme of coffee that is produced.

This premium comes in the form of a bonus to farmers which they can use to set up support projects, in the areas where coffee is cultivated, that are also aimed at those people not engaged in coffee production.

“Our rates guarantee farmers a second payment at the end of the season, and there is an additional social premium which the societies can use on community projects of their choice,” he says.

Gumutindo boasts a membership of 15 societies, each representing 500 to 1,000 farmers.