Assessing Vertical Integration as a Feasible and Profitable Business Strategy for Smallholder Agriculture
Coffeelands Blog
by Dan McQuillan
2M ago
Pedro Acte, 32, Nikté Alejandra Cú, 25, from Cacao Verapaz S.A., and Marisol Amador from Isidro, check the humidity of cocoa seeds in Lanquin, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. Cacao Verapaz has vertically integrated and invested in their own collection & fermentation centers. Agricultural cooperatives and small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises (SMEs) in the Global South commonly employ strategies of vertical integration. There are thousands of examples of cooperatives, across diverse geographies and crops, that participate in the production, processing and transport of agricultural goods ..read more
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The intimate relationship between farmers, the land and climate
Coffeelands Blog
by Dan McQuillan
7M ago
Coffee nursery in Nuevo Progreso, Guatemala. A damaging fungus, coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix), swept across the coffeelands of Central America from 2012-2014. It left withered plants and battered livelihoods in its wake. Smallholder farmers, already living on the edge, lost 30—50% of their coffee production (read: their income) in a matter of months. Food insecurity stalked the region as a result, since farmers did not have the cash needed to buy the basics for their family, or to pay farm laborers. It took several years, and millions of dollars of investment, for coffee production to ..read more
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Cost-effective coffee farm renovation and rehabilitation
Coffeelands Blog
by Paul Hicks
1y ago
In a recent post we explained the reasons for launching the RENACER Coffee Farm Management School in El Salvador. This posts provides a bit more depth on goals and lessons related to coffee farm renovation. Sigfredo Corado (left) and Daniel Torres (right) inspecting coffee plant at Noruega Farm, El Salvador. In 2018 we carried out social and economic studies of rural communities in western El Salvador. This same year global coffee prices plunged and most coffee farms chose not to harvest coffee so the demand for seasonal farm labor was extremely low. Simultaneously there were record numbers of ..read more
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SCA Gives Our RENACER School the Sustainability Award!
Coffeelands Blog
by Paul Hicks
1y ago
We are so honored and grateful for SCA recognition of our RENACER Coffee School with its 2023 Sustainable Project Award! This post provides the background, purpose and results of the RENACER Coffee School since it was launched in early 2019. Why did we launch RENACER? Coffee farm renovation is an expensive but necessary investment for every farm. The longer a farmer delays renovation, the more expensive it becomes. A cascade of shocks over the past fifteen years caused many farmers in El Salvador (and elsewhere) to postpone coffee farm renovation, creating a crisis: in 2021 El Salvador exporte ..read more
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Rebranding Blue Harvest for our 10th Anniversary
Coffeelands Blog
by Paul Hicks
1y ago
Today we announce the launch of our new and improved website for Blue Harvest www.blueharvest.org Blue Harvest was launched at the SCAA EXPO in 2013, where we began exploring how coffee production and processing impacts on water resources. In 2014 we launched Blue Harvest as a project with this blog post, when Keurig Green Mountain (now Keurig Dr. Pepper, KDP) funded our first activities, which were then amplified with funds from the Inter-American Development Bank (BID Lab) SAFE Platform in 2015. CRS and our partners have promoted Blue Harvest continuously through many iterations, with consi ..read more
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Sustainability: processes, partnerships, and systems
Coffeelands Blog
by Paul Hicks
1y ago
The idea of sustainability is so elusive. It is not something you ever have or get, it’s a pursuit. In the world of development, “sustainability” is the holy grail – as it should be. We want the good that projects deliver to deliver for the long-term, we want to avoid people who benefit from projects to become depend on the resources that projects give. We want people to be better off for the long-term, long after our temporary projects give their benefits. Development organizations and donors are always looking for a clear strategy for sustainability. Our understanding of sustainability evol ..read more
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The intimate relationship between farmers, the land and climate
Coffeelands Blog
by Dan McQuillan
1y ago
Coffee nursery in Nuevo Progreso, Guatemala. A damaging fungus, coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix), swept across the coffeelands of Central America from 2012-2014. It left withered plants and battered livelihoods in its wake. Smallholder farmers already living on the edge, lost 30—50% of their coffee production (read: their income) in a matter of months. Food insecurity stalked the region as a result, since farmers did not have the cash needed to buy the basics for their family, or to pay farm labourers. It took several years, and millions of dollars of investment, for coffee production to ..read more
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How healthy soils lead to great coffee
Coffeelands Blog
by Paul Hicks
1y ago
Ben Gravel with his dog, Bella, at their Cascadas farm in Chalatenango in El Salvador At the RENACER coffee school, we promote sustainable farming practices that are proven to increase yields, and we train farmers how to select coffee for quality. All this has led to increased incomes for farmers. Double the yields and double the price, and we quadruple incomes for many farmers.  From experience, we know that healthy trees produce quality cherries, and ultimately better coffee beans. Part of this just makes intuitive sense. If trees are healthy and producing more cherries, a lar ..read more
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The Unique Challenges of Investing in Agriculture
Coffeelands Blog
by Dan McQuillan
1y ago
Agriculture and trade & finance have a necessary but strained relationship. This is not surprising since trade and finance are often dynamic, short-cycle, growth-oriented ventures, whereas, farming the land to produce food, fiber, and fuel is an arduous labor, seeking incremental gains, requiring patience, and a humble acceptance that the next drought, pest outbreak or bad harvest is always lurking just beyond the horizon. However, despite the very real challenges, for those who have chosen to dedicate their lives to agricultural pursuits – in my case I spent years working livestock on ran ..read more
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Industry Initiative: The Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide
Coffeelands Blog
by Dan Barthmaier
2y ago
‘Why is the specialty coffee price set to the C price and the not cost of production?’ The  role of the C price, the coffee commodity price used as a  global benchmark,,, has been the subject of much debate for the coffee industry, especially in Specialty Coffee circles. Coffeelands itself has dedicated much ink to the issues created by the C price: beginning with The Scandal of the C Price, and followed by Extreme Price Volatility Undermines the Coffee Sector and Proposing an Alternative Benchmark for Coffee Prices: The C-5. Much of these criticisms are b ..read more
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