At Bench Maji Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union, we prioritise the fair compensation and welfare of our coffee farmers. We have established a system of support, compensation and profit distribution which reflects this priority as best we can, while also serving our clients in terms of quality, price and timely delivery.
- 1. Coffee collection at cooperative level
Each cooperative collects the harvested coffee from each of its farmer members by registering their names and quantity of coffee submitted.
- 2. From cooperative to Union
The cooperatives transfer all collected to the Union who registers the name of the cooperative and quantity and quality of coffee submitted.
- 3. Payment collection
The Union pays the cooperatives upon collection, who in turn pays its member farmers relative to their supply quantity.
- 4. The Union processes, grades and exports the coffee to its clients.
- 5. Payment after final export
After the final export, the Union again pays 70% of the profit back to its member cooperatives and relative to coffee supply quantity provided. The cooperatives pay in turn 70% of that profit to their member farmers (as per their coffee ratio).The remaining 30% at Union and cooperative levels is to cover operational costs.
- 6. Use of certification premiums
Certification premiums are reinvested back into the farmer community and into the Bench Maji land through projects with social, economic and/ or environmental development impact.
