Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union
The aforementioned region is characterized by its unique native vegetation and tropical climate conducive to coffee bean growth.
[1] OCFCU is a democratic, member-owned business operating under the principles of the International Cooperative Alliance and Fair trade,[2] and the Union plays a central role in the Ethiopian coffee marketing chain.
[2] These DVDs were shown to the Oromia agricultural bureau management, and Meskela's idea for a market-oriented democratic organisation was accepted and implemented.
[6] In July 2018, OCFCU invested the equivalent of more than USD$1.5 million to build its first coffee roasting and packaging complex at Gelan Town in Oromia Regional State.
[5] The OCFCU states their vision for the Union is that they "aspire to see cooperative societies who strongly emerge as the engine of development in rural and urban settings to achieve transformation.
"[7] Guided by the principles of the International Cooperative Alliance, the primary mission of the Union is to reduce transaction costs through the facilitation of direct sales of coffee.
[20] Consequently, cooperatives have been considered as organisations playing significant socioeconomic roles by reducing transaction costs and increasing the bargaining power of suppliers.
[21] The Union has been able to reduce the number of intermediaries between coffee growers and the export market, significantly increasing the share of the value-added chain.
[22] In accordance with their objective of improving farmers’ incomes, the Union disburses seventy percent of profits to cooperatives and their members through dividends.
[2] OCFCU also offers access to banking and credit services, coffee quality control training, education, flour mills, and community clinics, among others for members.
[2] The following table from the OCFCU website outlays the Union's economic and social endeavors:[24] Coffee crops are significantly affected by climate volatility.
As diseases and pests become more prevalent and temperatures rise and patterns of rainfall become more volatile, it becomes significantly more difficult to grow coffee successfully.
[2] In 2014, OCFCU partnered with a roasting house in the Netherlands with the aim to eliminate the reliance on wood for household use and produce carbon-neutral coffee from farm to cup.
[2] The Fair trade premium from the carbon credits goes toward projects which will make communities better equipped to deal with the effects of climate volatility.
