Coffee certification in East Africa: impact on farms, families and cooperatives - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9086862551 ISBN 13: 9789086862559

Publisher: Wageningen Academic Publishers, 2014

Synopsis

Certification of coffee producers is frequently suggested as a promising strategy for improving the position of smallholder farmers in the market. After the launch of the first Fairtrade label in 1988, several other standards have been promoted either by voluntary agencies (Utz-certified) or by private coffee companies. Each coffee label relies on different strategies for enhancing sustainable production and responsible trade.Coffee certification in East Africa is of a rather recent nature but has been rapidly expanding, representing currently 26 percent of the world's sustainable certified coffee supply. Marketing channels, cooperative organisation and household structures show notable differences between Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia. Empirical studies on the effects of standards for smallholders are scarce.This book intends to deepen our understanding on the role and functions of coffee certification regimes, based on three innovative approaches: (1) longitudinal field survey data capturing changes in coffee farming systems and effects on household welfare; (2) in-depth interviews and behavioural experiments regarding risk attitudes, trust and investments at cooperative level; and (3) detailed discourse analyses regarding gender roles and female bargaining power within coffee households. The chapters included in this book provide new and original evidence about the impact of coffee certification based on large-scale field surveys and in-depth interviews.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wageningen Academic Publishers
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 9086862551
• ISBN 13: 9789086862559
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 262
• Editor: Ruben Ruerd, Hoebink Paul