By Antynet Ford

Mutira Farmers Cooperative has renewed its Fair Trade Certification despite low demand, saying the chance to earn up to Sh148 per kilogram under Fair Trade compared to about Sh60 per kilogram at auction makes the certification worth keeping.

Only about 5 per cent of the cooperative’s annual production of roughly 4 million kilograms of coffee is sold under Fair Trade terms, with the remaining 95 per cent sold through the auction system at much lower prices.

Speaking to Farmbiz Africa, cooperative director Martin Kinyua said the higher prices and stable buyers under Fair Trade influenced the decision to renew the certification.

“Previously, before 2012 when we joined Fair Trade, the prices really kept on fluctuating, ranging below Sh60 per kilogram but as of last year, the highest price we had for a kilogram was Sh148 per kilo and it has been stable. Farmers on boarded the Co-operative as it has become more stable and predictable especially because of the minimum prices put in place by fair trade,” Kinyua said.

Kinyua said certification also helps the cooperative secure buyers, even though only a small portion of the coffee qualifies for Fair Trade sales.

“Many specialty buyers use certification as a baseline filter before considering a supplier. With the Fair Trade Certification we have enjoyed various things that come with that. The certification helped us get new markets and maintain the existing markets that we had,” he said.

He said the small Fair Trade share is still important for the cooperative’s standing in the market.

“The five per cent sale of our whole 4 million Kg’s produced is low but the small fraction has helped our cooperative to maintain market access and reputation even when the larger percentage is not sold with the certification which is also costly as you need to maintain the set standards of hygiene, employees welfare and keep a record of the pesticides you use on the coffee too,” Kinyua said.

The cooperative also retains the certification because of the Fair Trade Premium, which supports farm improvements and community projects in Kirinyaga Central, including schools and women and youth groups.

“Our community benefits a lot and it this makes it meaningful to be certified by Fair Trade even if only a small share of coffee qualifies. Even a limited premium is better than none,” Kinyua said.

Kinyua said dropping the certification could lock the cooperative out of future European markets and higher-paying buyers.

“Fair trade Certification is a protection for Long term market opportunities and it has helped us improve credibility and identity. With it, we have been able to access premium buyers,” he said.

He added that Fair Trade has improved farming and processing standards at the cooperative.

“Before Fair Trade, we had the local indigenous or traditional knowledge on coffee farming. With Fair Trade, we have been able to modernize our farming through their trainings on pesticides, water conservation and responsible sustainable farming which were not being taken seriously before,” Kinyua said.

“Being Fair Trade Certified means you are very responsible when it comes to farming whereby you are very responsible by using the right chemicals to spray the crops, you have the right practices and the correct labor practices if you have employed people to work for you. Even the processing practices are maintained per standard by the cooperatives who are certified by Fair Trade,” he added.

Since joining Fair Trade in 2012, Mutira Farmers Cooperative has grown from 5,500 to 7,500 smallholder farmers, with women accounting for the largest share of new members.

“We started with a membership of 5,500 smallholder farmers and now we are at 7,500 with the biggest number being women farming coffee in Kirinyaga and we are seeing the numbers grow even more in the coming months and years,” Kinyua said.

Coffee production has increased over the same period.

“In terms of production, we have also grown from 1.58 million kilograms of Cherry in 2012 to over 4 million kilograms of Cherry,” he said.

Kinyua said the certification has also helped the cooperative reach niche markets in Europe.

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“There are niche markets that we have been able to achieve through our sourcing partners. We have different models of sourcing for Coffee. Our sourcing partners buy on behalf of roasters, we have access of specific markets including niche markets like Germany, Switzerland and the UK we have been able to do it through the fair trade certification,” he said.

Fair Trade Africa, established in 2005, works with more than 1.4 million smallholder farmers across 29 African countries.

“We want smallholder farmers to not only be price takers but price setters hence adding value to their productions,” Fair Trade Africa Head of Strategy Madeline Muga said.

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