Coffee farmers’ motivations to comply with sustainability standards

Sylvaine Lemeilleur, Julie Subervie, Anderson Edilson Presoto, Roberta de Castro Souza and Maria Sylvia Macchione Saes
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Anderson Edilson Presoto: USP - Universidade de São Paulo = University of São Paulo
Roberta de Castro Souza: USP - Universidade de São Paulo = University of São Paulo
Maria Sylvia Macchione Saes: USP - Universidade de São Paulo = University of São Paulo

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Abstract: Purpose: to investigate the incentives to coffee farmers to participate in certification schemes that require improved agricultural practices.Design/methodology: we ran a choice experiment among 250 Brazilian coffee farmers in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.Findings: Our findings show that both cash and non-cash payments are likely to incentive farmers' participation in a certification scheme. Besides price premium, incentives as long-term contracts and provision of technical would encourage producers to adopt eco-certification schemes. Our results also suggest that non-cash payments may be appropriate substitutes to a price premium to some extent.Research limitations: the large coffee producers are over-represented in our sample compared to the population of Brazilian coffee farms. However, it seems reasonable to focus on these producers, as they are usually the ones who individually adopt strategies, since small farmers are induced by collective strategies (e.g., cooperatives).Practical Implications: the fact that farmers place a high value on non-cash rewards suggests that designing effective certification schemes is an important consideration for organizations that develop sustainability standards, and that public (re)intervention through technical assistance may become necessary when the market is unable to provide a price premium high enough to offset the compliance costs associated with the most stringent environmental requirements.Originality/value: we contributed in the literature about adoption of sustainable agriculture practices analyzing the requirements and motivations for farmer participation in certification schemes. We also contribute private and public strategies to encourage the adoption of sustainable practices.

Keywords: certification; voluntary sustainability standards; erosion.; compost; choice experiment; Brazil; coffee; pesticides (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-dcm and nep-env
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
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Published in Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, 2020, 10 (4), pp.365-383. ⟨10.1108/JADEE-04-2019-0051⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-02278751

DOI: 10.1108/JADEE-04-2019-0051

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