Uganda is one of the most important coffee producing countries in Africa with coffee making up the highest percentage of its export revenues. However, coffee producers in the country often have...Show moreUganda is one of the most important coffee producing countries in Africa with coffee making up the highest percentage of its export revenues. However, coffee producers in the country often have relatively low living standards and face various challenges including low income, dependence on the volatility of international coffee prices, gender inequality and environmental degradation. Fair trade was founded with the aspiration to mitigate these challenges and to enhance producers living standards. While it has had some success with counterbalancing coffee price fluctuation and increasing farmers’ income, it has not achieved significant results in terms of reducing gender inequality or protecting the environment.Show less
Coffee is a volatile commodity. Many producers have suffered of severe price fluctuations. On the side of consumers the market has seen a rise of ethical consumership over the past few years, where...Show moreCoffee is a volatile commodity. Many producers have suffered of severe price fluctuations. On the side of consumers the market has seen a rise of ethical consumership over the past few years, where there is a wish to consume sustainable and fair products. The Fair Trade certification is one of these certifications and aims to create an equitable market, where producers receive a price that generates a sustainable livelihood. This research looks at the impact the Fair Trade certification has had on rural development in the region of Cusco, Peru, one of Peru's coffee producing areas.Show less
Coffee is one of the most traded commodities in the World and accounts for around 36.5 Billion US dollars’ worth of trade, according to the UN (2017, 180). It is a widely democratized beverage in...Show moreCoffee is one of the most traded commodities in the World and accounts for around 36.5 Billion US dollars’ worth of trade, according to the UN (2017, 180). It is a widely democratized beverage in western societies nowadays, with the largest importers in the World being the EU and the US. How can coffee trade contribute to both the development of the Latin American countries and the empowerment of its small producers? The aim of this paper is to provide practical solutions that can be implemented to empower the producers, at each of the stages of the coffee supply chain. Within the framework of the New Rural Development paradigm, this paper finds that producing countries should help the individual producers by providing an enabling environment for better producing conditions and should coordinate with other producing countries to, again, strengthen their negotiating power vis-à-vis developed consuming countries. The consuming countries, in turn, should not hinder the development of the producing countries with discriminatory import tariffs and should instead provide the legal and executive framework allowing producing countries to develop themselves. Finally, individual consumers should voice their support for better living conditions for the coffee producers by buying products from sustainable supply chains.Show less
The effects of the globalization of the economy have been diverse and the fruits of liberalization have not been enjoyed by all. Neoliberal policies have opened up national markets to international...Show moreThe effects of the globalization of the economy have been diverse and the fruits of liberalization have not been enjoyed by all. Neoliberal policies have opened up national markets to international competitors. In Latin America the traditional cultivation of coffee by small farms started to become challenged due to the subjection to the competition with multinational enterprises. Farmers have set up cooperatives and the Fair Trade Organization have assisted them to obtain a fair access to the market. In addition, fair trade cooperatives intent to promote the development of the farmers’ living standards. The Fair Trade cooperative, Union of Indigenous Communities of the Isthmus Region in Mexico and Society of Small Producers for Coffee Export in Nicaragua, seem to have reduced the vulnerability of farmers to fluctuating market prices. Although, the Fair Trade cooperatives have offered farmers a platform of development and sustainability, the effects of Fair Trade and the cooperatives internal procedures are likely to be influenced by the social, economic and political context of each country. However, while limitations are present to the effects of Fair Trade, the organization has provided a positive step in the process of sustainable development and equitable international trade.Show less
