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The Impact of Coffee Certification on Small-Scale Producers’ Livelihoods: Evidence from Ethiopia

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  • Jena, Pradyot Ranjan
  • Stellmacher, Till
  • Grote, Ulrike

Abstract

What is the impact of product certification on small-scale farmers’ livelihoods? To what extent does the participation of Ethiopian small-scale coffee farmers in certified local cooperative structures improve their socio-economic situation? To answer these questions, this paper employs household data of 249 coffee farmers from six different cooperatives collected in the Jimma zone of Southwestern Ethiopia in 2009. Findings show that the certification of coffee cooperatives has in total a low impact on small-scale coffee producers’ livelihoods mainly due to (1) low productivity, (2) an insignificant price premium, and (3) poor access to credit and information from the cooperative. Differences in production and organizational capacities between the local cooperatives are mirrored in the extent of the certification benefits for the smallholders. ‘Good’ cooperatives have reaped the benefits of certification, whereas ‘bad’ ones did not fare well. In this regard the “cooperative effect” overlies the “certification effect”.

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  • Jena, Pradyot Ranjan & Stellmacher, Till & Grote, Ulrike, 2012. "The Impact of Coffee Certification on Small-Scale Producers’ Livelihoods: Evidence from Ethiopia," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 126720, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:iaae12:126720
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.126720
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    Cited by:

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    2. Minten, Bart J. & Dereje, Mekdim & Engeda, Ermias & Tamru, Seneshaw, 2015. "Who benefits from the rapidly increasing Voluntary Sustainability Standards? Evidence from Fairtrade and Organic coffee in Ethiopia," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 212708, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Shumeta, Zekarias & D'Haese, Marijke, 2016. "Do coffee cooperatives benefit farmers? An exploration of heterogeneous impact of coffee cooperative membership in Southwest Ethiopia," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 19(4), August.
    4. 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.
    5. Dietz, Thomas & Auffenberg, Jennie & Estrella Chong, Andrea & Grabs, Janina & Kilian, Bernard, 2018. "The Voluntary Coffee Standard Index (VOCSI). Developing a Composite Index to Assess and Compare the Strength of Mainstream Voluntary Sustainability Standards in the Global Coffee Industry," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 72-87.
    6. Meemken, Eva-Marie & Spielman, David J. & Qaim, Matin, 2017. "Trading off nutrition and education? A panel data analysis of the dissimilar welfare effects of Organic and Fairtrade standards," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 74-85.
    7. Boonaert, Eva & Maertens, Miet, 2023. "Voluntary sustainability standards and farmer welfare: The pathways to success?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    8. Parvathi, Priyanka & Waibel, Hermann, 2015. "Adoption and Impact of Black Pepper Certification in India," Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture, Humboldt-Universitaat zu Berlin, vol. 54(2), pages 1-29, May.
    9. Auriol, Emmanuelle & Schilizzi, Steven G.M., 2015. "Quality signaling through certification in developing countries," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 105-121.
    10. Chiputwa, Brian & Qaim, Matin, 2014. "Sustainability standards, gender, and nutrition among smallholder farmers in Uganda," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 191001, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    11. Ibanez, Marcela & Blackmann, Allen, 2015. "Environmental and economic impacts of growing certified organic coffee in Colombia," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 197071, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    12. Pradyot Ranjan Jena & Ulrike Grote, 2017. "Fairtrade Certification and Livelihood Impacts on Small-scale Coffee Producers in a Tribal Community of India," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 39(1), pages 87-110.
    13. Estrella, Andrea & Navichoc, David & Kilian, Bernard & Dietz, Thomas, 2022. "Impact pathways of voluntary sustainability standards on smallholder coffee producers in Honduras: Price premiums, farm productivity, production costs, access to credit," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 27(C).
    14. Iddrisu, Mubarak & Aidoo, Robert & Abawiera Wongnaa, Camillus, 2020. "Participation in UTZ-RA voluntary cocoa certification scheme and its impact on smallholder welfare: Evidence from Ghana," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    15. Froehlich, Anderson G. & Melo, Andrea S.S.A. & Sampaio, Breno, 2018. "Comparing the Profitability of Organic and Conventional Production in Family Farming: Empirical Evidence From Brazil," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 307-314.
    16. van Rijsbergen, Bart & Elbers, Willem & Ruben, Ruerd & Njuguna, Samuel N., 2016. "The Ambivalent Impact of Coffee Certification on Farmers’ Welfare: A Matched Panel Approach for Cooperatives in Central Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 277-292.
    17. Malek, Žiga & Tieskens, Koen F. & Verburg, Peter H., 2019. "Explaining the global spatial distribution of organic crop producers," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).

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