How Might We Increase the Proportion of Coffee Making it through the Fully-washed Channel?

May 2, 2016 - AGLC Team

Backgrounder 2: How might we increase the proportion of coffee making it through the fully-washed channel? May 2016

KEY ISSUES

1. Paradox: In theory, the higher prices paid for fully washed coffee should incentivize farmers to fully wash their coffee. However, a high proportion of farmers semi wash their coffee or sell it to middlemen who sell into the semi-washed channel.
2.To increase the proportion of coffee moving through the fully-washed channel and improve traceability, the government has instituted a “zoning” policy in which farmers must sell their coffee to coffee washing stations within their geographic zone.
3. Is “zoning” the most effective way to encourage farmers to sell fully-washed coffee? There is evidence that zoning might not only constrain farmer choice, but also reduce well-being. However, zoning speaks to real challenges for which solutions are needed.

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