STiR coffee and tea magazine

16 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 4, 2018 (August / September) Photo by Angel Barrera courtesy Belco, France, Where Sourcing Makes Sense Q&A Q A By Sherri Johns Ramadham Salum CPC (Coffee Processing Company) Ramadham Salum inspecting the raised drying beds at one of his washing stations. Editors Note: Burundi is struggling with lower coffee production volumes and lower prices compared to their counterparts in Uganda and Rwanda. The country gets nearly 70% of its foreign exchange from the coffee crop, 96% of it arabica. Production is from 25 million trees covering 70,000 hectares of farmland. Although the country is battling the effects of foreign exchange shortfalls, the government said in June it expects coffee production in 2018 to be 15,000 to 17,000 metric tons. Early this year President Pierre Nkurunziza said Burundi exported 10,000 tons of coffee in 2017 earning the country an estimated $29 million. Ramadhan Salum was born and raised in the Kayanza province, Burundi. He founded Coffee Processing Company (CPC) in 2010 and acquired his first washing station in Buziraguhindwa near the border with Rwanda. He has since added Mbirizi and Shembati stations also in Kayanza and the Sehe washing station in Hibitoke province. All four stations reflect Salum's passion for coffee and his commitment to his community. CPC buys coffee from hundreds of smallholders whom Salum supplies with seedlings. His company donated land for a school and provides financial support as well as infrastructure. He is now producing naturals at scale and experimenting with honey processing. Salum is currently building a dry mill in preparation for export micro lots that are color sorted on modern equipment as well as hand sorted. Salum is a strong role model as an exporter and advocate for quality and for the farmers in Burundi. He takes good care of the buyers and farmers at washing stations and gets the lots through a sometimes-compli- cated exporting process. Often he can be seen at washing stations, international trade shows and coffee cupping events. Here he shares with STiR his insight as a Burundian exporter. STiR: Sourcing specialty grade coffee direct from the washing stations is common these days. How important is it for you to visit the farms and washing stations you buy from? Salum: Coffee is not just business, but it is also relationship between the buyer, the owner of the coffee washing station, and the coffee producers. It is important for buyers to come on ground and see what is being done in terms of producing good quality coffee. Buyers can learn as well contribute to improve the quality improvement at the origin STiR: What do you look for on a farm visit? Salum: I learn and share the experience for my buyers. My visits show support to the producers and offer motivation, not only a potential to purchase and "make deals". STiR: What always turns you away? Salum: When coffee farmers are not well paid for their cherries it bothers me. Others come and try to offer less, I offer a good price for good quality and that action equates to ongoing relationships with farmers and washing stations. I respect them and vice versa. STiR: What is your definition of transparency and what does it mean to your business?

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