On Saturday 1 March, Tipperary Institute welcomed John Nuwagaba  from Uganda as part of Fairtrade Fortnight. John is general manager of the Ankole Coffee Producers Cooperative Union (ACPCU). John has a degree in Economics and Politics and a post-graduate diploma in management. His organisation was established in 1998 and represents 6,600 smallholder coffee growers in the Bushenyi district of South West Uganda. The cooperative represents those farmers who supply the Fairtrade market with high quality Robusta coffee. The aims of the co-op are :

1) To develop the members skills so that they can export more produce 2) To enable members to have more control over their coffee business 3) To increase their income 4) To add value to their product 5) To strengthen their organisation

 

One of the Companies the Co-op sells to is Cafedirect. And one of Cafedirects products is Cafedirect Classic Blend coffee which you can buy in Thurles in Costcutters, Johnstons, Tesco, Dunnes Stores and Health and Harmony

Normally, coffee is bought and sold on the international market in the same way as oil (in fact it’s the second most traded commodity after oil). As coffee prices are volatile, the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (FLO) has established minimum guaranteed prices which cover growers' costs of production.
Fairtrade minimum prices are as follows:
• Arabica coffee: 131 US cents/lb
• Arabica organic coffee: 151 US cents/lb
• Robusta coffee: 111 US cents/lb
• Robusta organic coffee: 131 US cents/lb
Whenever the market price goes beyond these minimum prices, Fairtrade stipulates to pay the market price plus 10 US cents/lb premium. Cafédirect  go further: they  take the market price and pay the growers this price plus an extra 10%.

John was very keen to convey to us here at TI how much he appreciates our support and how Fairtrade directly benefits his members. The coffee growers benefit from receiving extra income and their communities have benefited from the Fairtrade premium which the communities have invested in developing primary school facilities in the Bushenyi area, allowing more teachers to be employed, reducing class sizes and providing sports facilities.

John Nuwagba, ACPCU, Uganda and Ciaran Lynch, Head of Rural Development at Tipperary Institute plant a tree of friendship to mark TI’s commitment to Fairtrade and our links with rural communities in Africa.