Poor Farmer

Coffee pickers in Ethiopia The directors of a feature-documentary about the coffee trade explain why they became involved and what they hope to achieve Guardian February 27, 2008 There will probably be people reading this while slurping a latte in one of the hundreds of coffee shops that are firmly rooted into the high street. Sometimes called the 'third place', not home and not work, these shops have become the social fulcrum of society . Britain's obsession with coffee recently prompted the consumer organisation Which? , to release a report about the quality of coffee shops. It's bad news for anyone reading this in Starbucks, Costa and Cafe Nero and good news for those sitting in an independent coffee shop. Apparently, in an independent, you'll get a better quality coffee and pay less for it. Regardless of where you get your fix, one thing you're unlikely to find in a cafe are details as to how much of the price of your latte makes it back to the coffee farme...

By Edith Fortunate The Standard February 26, 2008 Stung by persistent cries of unfair trade practices from developing countries, international coffee buyers and roasters are moving to buy the crop from farmers. However, they will have to provide farmers with skills and equipment to ensure quality, according to the East African Fine Coffees Association (EAFCA), which has struck a deal with international buyers like Starbucks and Neumann Group. EAFCA, a regional non-profit association made up of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) countries, believes farmers will enjoy better revenue if middlemen are reduced and producers export value added coffee. "The aim is to help member countries develop quality specialty coffees, train and link them to the buyers after it is packed ready for consumption," said Mr Philip Gitao, EAFCA executive director. This relationship, he said, has yielded strong partnerships, including the agreements with some of the international bu...

The numbers are in, finally: Starbucks wants to buy 35 million pounds of coffee from Africa by 2009, a 100 percent increase from 17.6 million pounds it bought in 2006. Daily Guide February 21, 2008 Ghana is set to embark on various programs aimed at reviving its coffee sector as the country seeks to cut over reliance on cocoa for a bulk of its export earnings, Deputy Chief Executive of the state-run Ghana Cocoa Board, or Cocobod, told Dow Jones Newswires over the weekend. Charles Bernard Ntim said Cocobod, which is also in charge of the coffee sector, is set to embark on a five-year program. This will include rehabilitation of coffee plantations, replanting, provision of suitable planting materials to farmers as well as inputs like fertilizers to restore coffee output to around the 1980s level of 40,000 metric tons from 5,000 tons now. Meanwhile, Starbucks Corporation, the world's largest coffee chain expects to achieve its target of doubling coffee purchases from Africa by the e...

Sudan Tribune February 20, 2008 Ethiopia, Africa’s leading coffee exporter, planned its coffee export to increase by one third this year. Ethiopian Agriculture ministry disclosed. Export-promotion official under the ministry ,Solomon Tilahun, said “Ethiopia will ship 220,000 metric tones of beans in the year to June 30, 2008.” “In five years we plan to increase coffee production by 15%”Tilahun said. The horn of Africa nation has also planned to encourage foreign participation in the industry to help expand production and to boom foreign income. Ethiopian coffee, one of the top best coffee world wide, accountrs over 60% of the total foreign currency of the nation. The new strategy is based on encouraging and offering trainings to farmers working separately and in small scale level. “We plan to increase the productivity of small-holders by offering farmers trainings, incentives and advice” tilahun said Incentives include export-tax relief, suspention of leasing costs for between five a s...

Harvest Seen Up 10 Percent at 16.5 Million Tonnes The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa) via All Africa February 17, 2008 Posted to the web February 19, 2008 Ethiopia, Africa's top coffee grower, plans to boost production by 20 percent over five years from an estimated 400,000 tonnes in the 2007/08 (July-June) crop year, Reuters news agency reported citing a senior agriculture official as saying on Friday. "We target in the next five years, if everything is okay, to increase production by 20 percent," Solomon Tilahun, a marketing expert at Ethiopia's Agriculture Ministry, told the news agency on the sidelines of a regional coffee conference in Uganda. Solomon said the government was helping farmers with advice on how to care for their trees, as well as inviting people from outside the country to set up plantations. "We are encouraging foreign investors to invest in our country to increase coffee production," he said. In a related story the government's statisti...

Eight years ago, Howard Schultz departed the company he built. Last month he came roaring back as CEO to “reignite the emotional attachment” between the consumer – that would be you – and the coffee. (AP) JENNIFER WELLS Report on Business From Saturday's Globe and Mail Published February 8, 2008 This past Monday, Howard Schultz, chief executive officer of Starbucks Corp. [SBUX-Q], issued what the company calls a "partner update" to its vast community of coffee shops. In the corporate nomenclature, Starbucks outlets are run not by employees, but equals. "Dear partners," Mr. Schultz began. "As I sit down to write this note (6:30 a.m. Sunday morning) I am enjoying a spectacular cup of Sumatra, brewed my favourite way — in a French press." The communiqué was meant to convey the hallmarks of the Starbucks ethos. Intimacy. Authenticity. A sense of belonging. Starbucks, after all, had famously created the "Third Place" in the psyche of the consumer...

By Wondwossen Mezlekia The Ethiopian American January 6, 2008 (Published on February 9, 2008) The trademark dispute between Ethiopia and Starbucks is deemed “resolved” to the satisfaction of both Starbucks’ executives and the Ethiopian Government. In November, 2006, Oxfam, the international development and relief agency, launched the unprecedented global campaign in support of Ethiopia’s coffee trademark initiative against Starbucks, the specialty coffee giant. “For every cup of Ethiopian coffee Starbucks sells, Ethiopian farmers earn 3¢. Tell Starbucks: Honor your commitments to coffee farmers.” goes the campaign’s leading caption. In June, 2007 the parties announced that they have signed a confidential agreement and, in November, 2007, they “turned the page of the misunderstandings, for a new beginning,” as put by Starbucks’ Chairman Howard Schultz after his meeting with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in Addis Ababa. However, some questions still remain unanswered to the satisfaction...

Jeff Angell, president of Pura Vida Coffee, seen at the Fremont store. He says the company also sells much of its coffee to hundreds of cafes on college and university campuses and they're "very discriminating consumers." TOM REESE / THE SEATTLE TIMES By Melissa Allison The Seattle Times February 07, 2008 Forget earmarks and political donations. Pura Vida Coffee, of Seattle, won the right to sell coffee at the U.S. House of Representatives through an old-fashioned taste test. Last November, about 40 House staffers chose Pura Vida over Fair Trade-certified coffees from Starbucks, Seattle's Best Coffee, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Bluebird Artisanal Coffee Roasters. "When we decided to switch to Fair Trade coffee, there was some nervousness about whether that coffee is as good as regular coffee, which is one reason we had the taste-off," said Dan Beard, the House's chief administrative officer. Pura Vida began supplying the House with coffee in ...

Co-sponsored by the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies Friday, February 8th - Saturday, February 9th, 2008 University of Washington What is involved in implementing fair trade, particularly in a university environment? The speakers--scholars, corporate representatives, and activists-- are all committed to fair trade but offer a variety of perspectives about implementation. The intent of this conference is to educate the university community about the issues involved in implementing fair trade, particularly in a university environment. Each of the scholars who is attending has something interesting to say about implementing fair trade. They've studied campaigns or monitoring or supply chains. They've thought about how to use consumer power to bring about change in the ways workers are paid or treated. The invitees represent a range of disciplines and research emphases. The conference is sponsored by The Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs with additional support from th...