Insight story

6 min read

Brewing breakthroughs in Ethiopia's coffee and honey production

Bench Maji Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union (BMCFU) is committed to eco-friendly farming, ensuring sustainable production and preserving biodiversity. They provide training in organic farming, quality control, and also marketing and connecting local producers with global consumers. Despite Ethiopia's potential for specialty coffee, which commands premium prices, small-scale producers face challenges meeting quality and traceability standards.

Introducing BMCFU
Founded in 2005, the Union unites 85 cooperatives in the coffee, honey, and spice value chains, representing 21,350 farmers. BMCFU elevates members’ products to international markets, empowering small-scale producers with tools, resources, and knowledge for global success. By consolidating products, they offer economies of scale, improved market access, and stronger bargaining power for sustainable livelihoods.

Beekeeping enhances coffee quality amid challenges
Farmers adopt beekeeping as part of a mixed farming approach, diversifying income and enhancing coffee quality through improved pollination and ecosystem health. However, the current beekeeping practice predominantly follows traditional methods with low productivity and quality, as well as is labour intensive, making it hard to engage women. Farmers also lack the knowledge and equipment to practise modern beekeeping.

Considering the huge price difference between standard coffee and specialty coffee, increasing the volume of specialty coffee can improve farmer income by a minimum of 35 percent.

Strategic new specialty coffee partnership
The Beyond Farming Collective’s investment, in partnership with the Ethiopian Coffee Association (ECA) and the Ethiopian Honey and Beeswax Producers and Exporters Association (EHBPEA), promises transformative change for the Union and its members. This collaboration aims to boost high-quality, traceable specialty coffee production, enhancing small-scale producers' incomes.

The current practice of processing natural specialty coffee involves a third-party processor that is costly and time-consuming, limiting the specialty coffee exporting potential of the Union. With this project, modern processing machinery will be introduced to address the current challenges and increase the volume of specialty coffee exported.

New methods and training boost farmer prosperity
The Union will provide comprehensive training on quality coffee production, collection, and processing and introduce modern methods like sun-dried hulling machines and use of traceability software. The ECA will establish a mobile coffee laboratory for onsite quality control, cupping, and grading. The EHBPEA will modernise honey processing and establish honey packaging standards, helping farmers diversify income and improve product quality. Together these combined efforts will increase quality, transparency and the market value of coffee.

Transforming Ethiopia's coffee and honey
BMCFU is helping to strengthen Ethiopia's coffee and honey sectors through the promotion of eco-friendly farming and enhancing product quality. Their work improves market access, boosts incomes, and supports sustainable livelihoods. For more information or to explore how you can support, please contact BMCFU directly or reach out to the Beyond Farming Collective.

Learn more

Get in touch

To understand the potential impact and investment opportunities in Ethiopia, reach out to our Impact Manager.

Meron Tadesse

tadesse@bopinc.org

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