Growing Sustainably: A case study on the use of sustainable agricultural practices for adapting to the coffee crisis in Agua Buena, Coto Brus, Costa Rica

Abstract

One of the main challenges facing small-scale coffee producers who are willing to utilize more sustainable forms of coffee production is their lack of access to physical, economic, and educational resources. Strict requirements for existing certification schemes such as Fair Trade, organic, and Bird Friendly make it very difficult for resources-poor producers to take on the risk of changing production methods to these more lucrative alternatives. Increasing costs for chemical inputs and processing mean that producers pay more while growing global coffee supplies mean that less profits make their way to farmers. A lack of control over the commodity chain has also left growers vulnerable to being exploited by intermediaries and larger corporations, which control the majority of the roasting and marketing resources where the most coffee is sold- the Global North. This research finds that extending various resources to coffee producers, including education, higher prices for sustainably grown coffee, and trust can promote a form of adaptation to dropping coffee prices and increasing production costs that benefits not only producers, but also the natural environment and communities in which they work and live. Strong relationships, however, must be created between not only the various actors involved, both internal and external, but also between farmers and the consumers. Flexibility in the way that growers adopt and implement sustainable agricultural processes is important as the individual capabilities of farmers may vary. This research also found that while there were substantial cost savings in the reduction of chemical inputs and increased production of food crops, adaptation to the coffee crisis using sustainable agriculture would not be as successful without the higher prices paid, such as through the direct marketing scheme that was studied