Coffee School - Fair Trade

Fair Trade coffee is a socially and environmentally responsible way to conduct trade between developed and developing countries. This alternative form of trade, in our eyes, has the power to revolutionize the global economy, illustrating that the global community can work together to provide the basic needs for everyone. Coffee, like other commodities, is traded on futures markets but has a volatile price that changes rapidly. Since coffee market prices often drop too low to provide the farmers with a wage that can support a farm or family, the principle of trading fairly is to set a price floor that the purchasers will not pay less than. This price floor is sometimes as much as 26% above market value - just to give you an idea of how many times the price gets inflated en route to a café. The coffee market value chain incorporates many intermediaries who, to make a profit, raise the price while processing the beans. Fair trade seeks to eliminate and/or monitor as many intermediaries as possible to get as much of the price you pay for a cup of coffee back to the farmers responsible.

Fair Trade Coffee is a direct trade link between farmers and their cooperatives, bypassing exploitative members of the current value chain that do not add any value to the coffee. Fair Trade allows companies like AGRO Café to pay farmers a fair price for their harvest guaranteeing them and their families a decent living wage. It provides access to affordable credit, helping farmers stay out of debt to local moneylenders. It also promotes sustainable farming practices, such as organic farming, that help protect the environment.

Bean by bean, fair trade coffee has made a tangible difference in many farmers' lives. Children are gaining access to once non-existent education. Much needed infrastructure is built and progress against poverty is slowly achieved. These advancements are being made because people, like you, in consumer countries are realizing that they make a big impact on the world with the way they choose to spend their money.

Here are some of the specific ways that small farmers and Fair Trade protect the environment.

Small-scale farms use their land more efficiently because they are not worried about producing as much coffee as possible. They can intercrop a variety of produce on their farm, together with livestock that they can finally afford and use as a fertilizer source for their coffee trees. Traditionally small-scale coffee farmers planted many species of crop, such as: bananas, maize, nuts, beans etc. These added crops can provide nearly all of the food a family needs. Such farming practices ensure a balanced diet for the family and help reduce farmers' financial risk, and increase self-sufficiency.

Fair Trade also facilitates in providing technical assistance for sustainable farming. In order to join the register of certified Fair Trade coffee producers, cooperatives must use sustainable production techniques. AGRO Café invests directly in AGRODEV's development goals of bringing fair trade certifying bodies into Kenya for the first time. By providing technical assistant programs to train cooperative members on soil improvement, agro forestry, organic production and environmentally friendly coffee processing AGRODEV can achieve this. AGRODEV is currently working with AGRO Café to show that Fair Trade is not only profitable but also possible in Kenya. We are currently working with FLO (Fair-trade Labeling Organizations International) to get Kenya its first Fair Trade Coffee!!

Organizations like TransFair Canada have been doing an amazing job providing consumers with a trusted label for fair trade products. AGRO Café, once in operation, will become a registered retailer of fair trade certified products.