The study examines the impacts of fair-trade and organic coffee certifications on thernlivelihoods of small coffee farm ers in Oromia Region, taking the case of Mana Woreda.rnMembers of the Cooperative Societies in the selected woreda are the unit of analysis to findrnout the extent of the impact of coffee certifications. OCFSU is also one source of infonnationrnduring the investigation. The study focuses on certified and non-certified cooperativernmembers to unravel the impacts. A mixed methods approach (quantitative and qualitative) isrnemployed to generate the required data.rnCoffee certification is based on social justice and environmental well being wherernestablishing new channels of trade and marketing of coffee is initiated.rnBased on the purpose of the study, impacts of coffee certifications was investigated bur foundrnout that the benefits from the fair-trade and organic coffee did not reach the farmers for thernreasons beyond the control of the fanners. According to the investigation the possiblernbarriers include: institutional problems inherent in cooperatives in Ethiopia; blanket FLOrnstandards which does not consider specific conditions of countries; the heavy debt burden onrnthe cooperative societies which is being repaid to the creditor, the Development Bank ofrnEthiopia.rnAfter analyzing the problems, the study concludes with recommendations for remedies in therninstitutions, resolving the debt burden and informing the FLO to reconsider the curremrnstandards which becomes one of the barriers to participate in coffee certifications. Inrnaddition to the policy recommendation, the study directs to some of the key issues that needrnthe allention of researchers so that problems and opportunities related with coffeerncertifications are explored at length increasing the understanding of the scheme to the largerrnpopulations of the countl)' and policy makers.rnKey words: Coffee Certifications, Cooperatives, Fair-trade and organic, smallrncoffee farmers