“Once in a lifetime you might need a lawyer, or dentist, or an architect. But, every day, three times a day, you need a farmer”. I came across this quote a few years ago and it has stuck with me ever since. It may sound cliché, but it’s a fact. Over the last 25 years, this has meant many things to me. It has meant paying farmers the best possible price for their coffee harvest. It has meant going there, engaging with the farmers, their co-op leaders, their families. It has meant deeply caring for the education of their children. It has meant seeking ways to improve post-harvest practices and responsible water use in the process. I believe that we ought to pay farmers more through a trusted relationship with our green coffee trader. That is why we invest in rural education in places like Colombia through Famicafe, an education foundation. By doing all this, we honour farmers, we value their coffee and we enjoy drinking it.

It’s all summarized in another great quote: “Price is the best fertilizer.”

-- Hugo Ciro