Coffee farmer wants better price for her beans

Five acres of fully grown berries are now ready for harvesting, but coffee farmer Dian Ellis of Hart Hill, Portland, is facing what feels like insurmountable challenges.

Ellis, who spoke to THE STAR on Tuesday from her farm in Fairfield in the Buff Bay valley, explained that she relies on coffee farming, even though it requires a lot of hard work, including clearing the land, tilling it, planting seeds, fertilising, and then cleaning around the plants, so as to ensure full growth.

"It's harvest time now so we employ people to go out in the morning to pick the berries, which are placed in a box. Workers are paid $3,000 per box for the berries that they pick or reap," said Ellis. "We as farmers are paid $10,000 per box for our berries by the coffee buyers. So right away you can easily realise our plight. "From the outset, people are hired to clear the land right up to planting, fertilising, and then to reap during harvest. And we have to ensure that plants are not consumed by bushes or shrubbery."

Ellis expressed hope that farmers like her will get a better price for their coffee.

"It is very costly to maintain the coffee. Fertiliser is very expensive and that is what is affecting every coffee farmer," she said.

"The cost for fertilisers is about $10,000 per bag. On my farm I will use about 25 bags each time and I fertilise like three times per year." But in addition to those issues, there are other challenges facing Ellis.

"We have some challenges as it relates to a large breakaway from the community of Bangor Ridge coming down, which makes the road inaccessible. I really need help with the road as a result of the breakaway at the Malava Bridge, which prevents us from driving through right to Bangor Ridge. As for my farm, where it used to be, I could drive and go straight on the farm, but because of that blockage, you have to walk a long way [about a mile and a half]. And like now, when it's reaping time, you have to pay people to carry out the berries on their heads," she added.

Frequent rainfall in the Buff Bay valley is a perennial problem plaguing that area, as, according to Ellis, even though restoration road repairs are carried out, landslides triggered by heavy downpours continue to impact several roadways, especially farm roads in the Buff Bay valley of west Portland.

"I am passionate about what I do, and my husband is very supportive. It is a good feeling for me and I enjoy what I am doing. But I am hoping that the price for coffee per box, will go up, so that we can see some light," she said.