How Might We Increase the Proportion of Coffee Making it through the Fully-washed Channel?
May 2, 2016 - Author: AGLC Team
Backgrounder 2: How might we increase the proportion of coffee making it through the fully-washed channel? May 2016
KEY ISSUES
1. Paradox: In theory, the higher prices paid for fully washed coffee should incentivize farmers to fully wash their coffee. However, a high proportion of farmers semi wash their coffee or sell it to middlemen who sell into the semi-washed channel.
2.To increase the proportion of coffee moving through the fully-washed channel and improve traceability, the government has instituted a “zoning” policy in which farmers must sell their coffee to coffee washing stations within their geographic zone.
3. Is “zoning” the most effective way to encourage farmers to sell fully-washed coffee? There is evidence that zoning might not only constrain farmer choice, but also reduce well-being. However, zoning speaks to real challenges for which solutions are needed.