IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/ifaamr/208496.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An Economic Exploration of Smallholder Value Chains: Coffee Transactions in Chiapas, Mexico

Author

Listed:
  • Luna, Fátima
  • Wilson, Paul N.

Abstract

Fair trade and vertical integration represent two popular approaches for enhancing the incomes of organized farmers in a volatile coffee market as compared to the uncertain plight of independent, non-affiliated growers. A mixed method approach, utilizing informal interviews and a household survey in Chiapas, Mexico, analyzed three coffee trading regimes: independent, non-affiliated farmers, and growers in cooperatives pursuing a fair trade or vertical integration strategy. Survey and econometric results indicate that concentration on specialty coffee production with a portfolio of foreign contracts is economically preferable to a vertically integrated cooperative, which in turn produces more favorable coffee prices for smallholders than the non-affiliated conventional, coyote-dominated trading system.

Suggested Citation

  • Luna, Fátima & Wilson, Paul N., 2015. "An Economic Exploration of Smallholder Value Chains: Coffee Transactions in Chiapas, Mexico," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 18(3), pages 1-22, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:ifaamr:208496
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.208496
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/208496/files/201401855.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.208496?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hazell, Peter & Poulton, Colin & Wiggins, Steve & Dorward, Andrew, 2010. "The Future of Small Farms: Trajectories and Policy Priorities," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 1349-1361, October.
    2. Meskela, Tadesse & Teshome, Yalem, 2014. "From Economic Vulnerability to Sustainable Livelihoods: The Case of Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union in Ethiopia," MPRA Paper 53901, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Wiggins, Steve & Kirsten, Johann & Llambí, Luis, 2010. "The Future of Small Farms," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 1341-1348, October.
    4. Kaganzi, Elly & Ferris, Shaun & Barham, James & Abenakyo, Annet & Sanginga, Pascal & Njuki, Jemimah, 2009. "Sustaining linkages to high value markets through collective action in Uganda," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 23-30, February.
    5. Chris Arnot & Peter C. Boxall & Sean B. Cash, 2006. "Do Ethical Consumers Care About Price? A Revealed Preference Analysis of Fair Trade Coffee Purchases," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 54(4), pages 555-565, December.
    6. Wilson, Norbert L. W. & Wilson, Adam & Whittingham, Keith, 2013. "Helping Consumers “Know Who Grows” Their Coffee: The Case of THRIVE Farmers Coffee," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 16(3), pages 1-18, September.
    7. Giovannucci, Daniele & Koekoek, Freek Jan, 2003. "The State of Sustainable Coffee: A Study of Twelve Major Markets," MPRA Paper 17172, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Meskela, Tadess & Teshome, Yalem, 2014. "From Economic Vulnerability to Sustainable Livelihoods: The Case of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperatives Union (OCFCU) in Ethiopia," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 17(B), pages 1-6, July.
    9. Muradian, Roldan & Pelupessy, Wim, 2005. "Governing the coffee chain: The role of voluntary regulatory Systems," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(12), pages 2029-2044, December.
    10. Fan, Shenggen & Brzeska, Joanna & Keyzer, Michiel & Halsema, Alex, 2013. "From subsistence to profit: Transforming smallholder farms," Food policy reports 26, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    11. Meike Wollni & Manfred Zeller, 2007. "Do farmers benefit from participating in specialty markets and cooperatives? The case of coffee marketing in Costa Rica1," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 37(2‐3), pages 243-248, September.
    12. repec:feb:natura:0061 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Bacon, Christopher, 2005. "Confronting the Coffee Crisis: Can Fair Trade, Organic, and Specialty Coffees Reduce Small-Scale Farmer Vulnerability in Northern Nicaragua?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 497-511, March.
    14. Fischer, Elisabeth & Qaim, Matin, 2012. "Linking Smallholders to Markets: Determinants and Impacts of Farmer Collective Action in Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 1255-1268.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Keenan, Michael & Fort, Ricardo & Vargas, Ricardo, 2024. "Shocked into side-selling? Production shocks and organic coffee farmers’ marketing decisions," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    2. Marije Schaafsma & Ilda Dreoni & Lacour Mody Ayompe & Benis Egoh & Dewa Putu Ekayana & Arilson Favareto & Sonny Mumbunan & Louise Nakagawa & Jonas Ngouhouo‐poufoun & Marieke Sassen & Thiago Kanashiro , 2023. "A framework to understand the social impacts of agricultural trade," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 138-150, February.
    3. Giuliani, Elisa & Ciravegna, Luciano & Vezzulli, Andrea & Kilian, Bernard, 2017. "Decoupling Standards from Practice: The Impact of In-House Certifications on Coffee Farms’ Environmental and Social Conduct," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 294-314.
    4. Abraham, Mathew & Verteramo Chiu, Leslie & Joshi, Ekta & Ali Ilahi, Muhammad & Pingali, Prabhu, 2022. "Aggregation models and small farm commercialization – A scoping review of the global literature," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    5. Carlos Omar Trejo-Pech & Roselia Servín-Juárez & Álvaro Reyes-Duarte, 2023. "What sets cooperative farmers apart from non-cooperative farmers? A transaction cost economics analysis of coffee farmers in Mexico," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-24, December.
    6. Valencia, Vivian & García-Barrios, Luis & Sterling, Eleanor J. & West, Paige & Meza-Jiménez, Amayrani & Naeem, Shahid, 2018. "Smallholder response to environmental change: Impacts of coffee leaf rust in a forest frontier in Mexico," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 463-474.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. McNamara, Paul E. & Lee, Han Bum, 2017. "Strengthening Nutrition and Improving Livelihoods through Linking Women Farmers to Markets," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258091, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    2. Hao, Jinghui & Bijman, Jos & Gardebroek, Cornelis & Heerink, Nico & Heijman, Wim & Huo, Xuexi, 2018. "Cooperative membership and farmers’ choice of marketing channels – Evidence from apple farmers in Shaanxi and Shandong Provinces, China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 53-64.
    3. Biggeri, Mario & Carraro, Alessandro & Ciani, Federico & Romano, Donato, 2022. "Disentangling the impact of a multiple-component project on SDG dimensions: The case of durum wheat value chain development in Oromia (Ethiopia)," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    4. Aniseh S. Bro & Daniel C. Clay & David L. Ortega & Maria C. Lopez, 2019. "Determinants of adoption of sustainable production practices among smallholder coffee producers in Nicaragua," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 895-915, April.
    5. Snider, Anna & Gutiérrez, Isabel & Sibelet, Nicole & Faure, Guy, 2017. "Small farmer cooperatives and voluntary coffee certifications: Rewarding progressive farmers of engendering widespread change in Costa Rica?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 231-242.
    6. Carlos Omar Trejo-Pech & Roselia Servín-Juárez & Álvaro Reyes-Duarte, 2023. "What sets cooperative farmers apart from non-cooperative farmers? A transaction cost economics analysis of coffee farmers in Mexico," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 11(1), pages 1-24, December.
    7. Chiputwa, Brian & Spielman, David J. & Qaim, Matin, 2015. "Food Standards, Certification, and Poverty among Coffee Farmers in Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 400-412.
    8. Kiemen, Anna & Beuchelt, Tina, 2010. "Certification as an upgrading strategy for small-scale farmers and their cooperatives : a value chain analysis for Nicaraguan coffee," Research in Development Economics and Policy (Discussion Paper Series) 122652, Universitaet Hohenheim, Department of Agricultural Economics and Social Sciences in the Tropics and Subtropics.
    9. Fischer, Elisabeth & Qaim, Matin, 2011. "Smallholder Farmers and Collective Action: What Determines the Intensity of Participation?," 2011 International Congress, August 30-September 2, 2011, Zurich, Switzerland 114354, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    10. Margitta Minah, 2022. "What is the influence of government programs on farmer organizations and their impacts? Evidence from Zambia," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 93(1), pages 29-53, March.
    11. Mwangi, Joseph Kanyua & Crewett, Wibke, 2019. "The impact of irrigation on small-scale African indigenous vegetable growers’ market access in peri-urban Kenya," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 295-305.
    12. Verhofstadt, Ellen & Maertens, Miet, 2013. "Cooperative membership and agricultural performance: Evidence from Rwanda," Working Papers 157389, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centre for Agricultural and Food Economics.
    13. Luitfred Kissoly & Anja Faße & Ulrike Grote, 2017. "The integration of smallholders in agricultural value chain activities and food security: evidence from rural Tanzania," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(6), pages 1219-1235, December.
    14. Nalini Bikkina & Rama Mohana R. Turaga & Vaibhav Bhamoriya, 2018. "Farmer producer organizations as farmer collectives: A case study from India," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 36(6), pages 669-687, October.
    15. De Carvalho Reis Neves, Mateus & Freitas, Carlos Otavio & De Figueiredo Silva, Felipe, 2021. "Does cooperative membership increase rural income? Evidence from Brazilian agricultural sector," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 314006, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    16. Sourisseau, Jean-Michel & Bonnal, Philippe & Marzin, Jacques & Losch, Bruno & Bosc, Pierre-Marie, 2015. "Znaczenie Rolnictwa Rodzinnego W Procesach Rozwoju. Wnioski I Rekomendacje," Village and Agriculture (Wieś i Rolnictwo), Polish Academy of Sciences (IRWiR PAN), Institute of Rural and Agricultural Development, vol. 1(166.1).
    17. Abraham, Mathew & Verteramo Chiu, Leslie & Joshi, Ekta & Ali Ilahi, Muhammad & Pingali, Prabhu, 2022. "Aggregation models and small farm commercialization – A scoping review of the global literature," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    18. Corsi, Stefano & Marchisio, Laura Viviana & Orsi, Luigi, 2017. "Connecting smallholder farmers to local markets: Drivers of collective action, land tenure and food security in East Chad," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 39-47.
    19. Morrow, J.L., Jr. & Joyce, Richard Patrick, III & McMahon, William J. & DeMaia, Antonio M. & McVicker, S. Caleb & Parsons, Ashley E. & Wilcox, Kristin, 2017. "Cooperation among Ugandan farmers: cultivating social capital," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 20(5).
    20. Biggeri, Mario & Burchi, Francesco & Ciani, Federico & Herrmann, Raoul, 2018. "Linking small-scale farmers to the durum wheat value chain in Ethiopia: Assessing the effects on production and wellbeing," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 77-91.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:ifaamr:208496. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ifamaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.