23/05/2008 ::
Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (OCFCU), is a farmers owned cooperative union producing and selling coffee to the world market. Established in 1999, it has grown from a modest start and now exports directly to the high quality coffee markets in Europe, US, Australia and Japan. Started from 34 voluntary cooperatives it now includes 129 cooperatives throughout the Oromia region. A democratic organisastion it chooses its executive and ensures the producers higher benefits as the organisational structure replaces both collectors and suppliers in the chain from producer to customer. The Union and its members now own 56 pulperies, 16 hulleries and 71 warehouses and are in the process of establishing it's own coffe prosessing plant. Its current production is close to 150.000 tonnes annually grown from nearly 240.000 hectars og which 55.000 hectars is organic.
OCFCU is FairTrade certified, the first in Africa to be so, and sells under that mark also in Norway. The exports under FairTrade in 2007 was more than 3300 tonnes direct to suppliers, the remains going through auctions in London.
Through the FairTrade premium 10 cents per pound is channelled back to the farmers communities. This has enabled OCFCU to construct 5 primary schools, upgraded numerous classrooms, established 4 health centers and dug 36 water posts, all benefitting the farmers and their families. A number of new health and social projects are under way. In this perspective OCFCU claims that FairTrade helps maintaing coffee production, many places under threath from chat-production.