An Assessment Coffee Marketing Activities and Performance of Bonga Town Peasant Union

Abstract

Ethiopia is the oldest coffee exporter in the world, even though In rural areas, householders are often geographically dispersed; roads and communications are poor, and the volume of business is insufficient to encourage private service provision. The purpose of this study is to assess the overall coffee marketing activities and performance of Bonga town peasant union. In this study, the type of research is descriptive. The rational for selecting this type of research is that the purpose of the study is describing the existing phenomenon of the coffee marketing activities and performance of Bonga town peasant union. This study employees both probability and non-probability sampling techniques. From non-probability convenience sampling technique was selected. Then, simple random sampling technique was used to select the representative sample from the population. The sampling frame for farmers was the registration list of the farmers around the town that consists of 443 at time of field survey. The combination of qualitative and quantitative data were employed. The data obtained from different sources is analyzed by using frequency tables and percentages. The main service found between farmers and the union is the marketing. The permanent customers for Coffee marketing union were member farmers, other farmers & local traders. From the supply side the farmers & other traders and the permanent buyer is the Union. The purchasing activity was done in most of the time by themselves and their family followed by using agents. The marketing service of the union is not that much fast and transparent and these results in poor performance of the union. Members in the study area, right after nominating the cooperatives managing body; were inclined to run away from their cooperatives and they were not controlling the physical and financial performances of their cooperatives. This situation opens the door for mismanagement of resources and lead to corruption. There were 33 private traders 13 cooperatives and four main marketing channels in which coffee was passing from producers to consumers. The first channel was passing coffee from producers via coffee marketing primary cooperatives to export through secondary cooperative (unions). In the second channel producers sold dried coffee to collectors who were selling to coffee marketing cooperatives to be exported directly through the Union. The third and the fourth channels participates rather larger number of marketing agents and in this way producers were selling their coffee either to collectors of dried cherry or wholesalers and collectors to wholesalers to export via exporter through auction market respectively. More active participation and coordination of members, directors, and managerial staff and government bodies are required to make the cooperatives become more competent and efficient, Giving greater emphasizes for member satisfaction the members, the management bodies and the staff members of the cooperatives need to be given a capacity building training in business planning and development and marketing management, Creating of conducive environment though formulation of sound cooperative policy that creates competitive cooperatives in satisfying their members.

Keywords: Coffee, marketing, cooperatives (unions), Farmers

DOI: 10.7176/JMCR/53-03