Fairtrade Premium Provides a Safety Net for Cooperative Coffee Farmers

By becoming part of a cooperative, coffee farmers get additional benefits.

Saiban and his wife Walijah own a 1.25 acre coffee garden, harvesting two coffee crops a year.

They can earn around $850 per year, which is simply not enough to feed the family.

Therefore, Saiban plans to grow chili and also work as a temporary laborer. He can sell all his coffee to the Koperasi Baithul Qiradh Baburrayyan (KBQB)  cooperative and gets support for his daily life such as staple food, Fairtrade Premium cash money and training.

“I hope that Fairtrade buyers appreciate the good quality of coffee that we produce. If they value our coffee, they will pay more and buy more. This will help my family and my children. From my side, I will ensure that the cherry that comes from my coffee tree is always in high quality. For this I need support from the cooperative to give me continued facilitation and trainings,” shared Walijah.

KBQB has been Fairtrade certified since 2007 and is one of the leading coffee cooperatives in Indonesia. Their production is sold almost 100% as Fairtrade organic coffee from 5671 farmers.

KBQB invest strongly in training farmers in improvement of quality and the productivity of their coffee. KBQB have invested Premium Funds in farmer’s capacity building and training, an emergency social fund and new assets such as land for nurseries.

In 2014, some of the Fairtrade Premium was spent in cash and rice – the area was badly hit by a 6.5 earthquake; also the crop had been exceptionally bad. The 2015 program will prioritize new seedlings, planting of shadow trees and more environmental education.