Cooperatives and appellations: addressing the gap between the cost of coffee and farmer income.
The gap between coffee price and farmer income needs bridging. Can Co-operatives and appellations help.
World Coffee Magazine, the official publication of the World Coffee Summit and Exhibition London 2023 was published last week and included articles from experts with a variety of disciplines impacting the coffee industry and its value chain.
Steven contributed one of those articles which made it onto the cover page!
'Cooperatives & Appellations: The answer to addressing the gap between the cost of coffee and the income of the farmers' highlights a plight felt by many at the very upstream end of the food and beverage industry.
This is a vast industry that takes agricultural products and turns them into food and beverages. Many of these are commoditised - with limited differentiation. In many other cases the branding value is held by the end retailer or the processor. As a result, the farmer or grower often only sees a small percentage of the final retail price. This can make it difficult for them to raise the capital they need to invest in more sustainable production methods, higher yields, or to improve the quality of their production. Which in turn creates a negative feedback loop.
Premiumisation can be part of the solution - creating a product that can be sold at a higher price, with the farmer capturing a higher share. But as Warren Buffet says, to be premium the product needs to offer something special.
One crop that seems to offer potential in this regard is coffee. Premium coffee, grown in specific regions, is very different from the mass market product. Could this be part of the solution to improving the livelihoods of the farmers?
Here is a link to Steven's blog that was featured in World Coffee Magazine 👇🏾
Steven Bowen
...and here is a blog looking at the opportunity in coffee waste. Global coffee production delivers more than 23 million tons of waste every year 👇🏾
Steven Bowen
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