Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/716988
30 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 4, 2016 (August/September) bargaining agreements and transient laborers who supply seasonal labor for smallholders were excluded.) The workers studied likely earn more in currency than those excluded from analysis. Still, as the report highlights, the $382 per month they earned falls short of the $440 per month they need. In their conclusion, the authors stated, "Bridging the gap between prevailing and living wages should not be the respon- sibility of coffee farmers alone, who are often price takers." Learn more: www.isealalliance.org/LivingIncome HONDURAS The Great Coffee Comeback Honduras, the leading coffee producer in Central America, was among the most severely damaged coffee countries during the height of the roya infestation. In a new report INTL FCStone, a global financial services organzation special- izing in commodities, documents the incredible tale of how growers there achieved yields of 18.8 bags per hectare to once again become the world's sixth largest coffee exporter. "After a devastating roya infestation, the country's coffee crop was decimated," says Alexis Rubinstein, senior editor with INTL FCStone Financial Inc.Incredible demand for the product and the development of disease resistant trees incented the country's coffee growers to double down and Honduras again ranks first in Central America, third in Latin America, and sixth globally in coffee exports by volume." Honduras – The Great Coffee Comeback, is the latest in the "From the Farmer Series." Download a copy: http://bit. ly/29y0VWj INDIA Coffee Board Sees Lower Production The Coffee Board of India predicts an 8% decrease in coffee production for 2016-17. Delayed blossoming are among the issues cited in two coffee-growing areas, Karnataka, and Kerala. High temperatures and lack of rain in Karnataka in particular have had a negative impact on Robusta there—a projected decrease in production of more than 10%. Arabica plantings fared better with May rains triggering the beginning of a healthier bloom set. The coffee board considers 2016-17 to be an off year also due to the previous year being "…a bumper year with an all-time record highest crop." Coffee yields are cyclic and after a record 350,000 metric tons last year, the 2016-17 crop is expected to produce as little as 227,500 MT. The only districts likely to produce more are Tamil Nadu with a minor increase of just over 1.5% predicted and the northeastern regions of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa which may produce about 7% more than in the previous year. The Coffee Board of India projects a yield of 320,000 in 2017-18. India is home to 2% of the world's coffee growing area but produces 4% of the world's coffee and accounts for about 5% of coffe exports globally. Learn more: www.indiacoffee.org/coffee-statistics.html Low cost organic inputs resulted in higher prices KENYA Organics Better for Farmers In a recent announcement, the Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture shared findings from a 10-year study in Thika and Chuka in Kenya. The project is exploring what happens when lower cost organic inputs are used for farming corn. This work mirrors that of similar projects happening in India and Bolivia, with the project in Bolivia investigating how similar techniques affect coffee production. In Kenya, the study compared a variety of organic tech- niques to each other. Paying less for farming inputs and being able to obtain higher prices for corn at the market enabled farmers to earn higher incomes in the fifth year of the study. Organizations involved in supporting the Kenyan project include the Biovision Foundation, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the Liechtenstein Develop- ment Service, and the Swiss supermarket chain Coop. Learn more: www.systems-comparison.fibl.org NEPAL Increased Production in Nepal A report in the Kathmandu Post noted an increase in coffee sales from Syangja, Nepal. According to the story, an increase in both domestic sales and exports underpins this growth. Exports to Japan accounted for about 15% of this area's coffee production. This region is one of four districts in Nepal to receive funds through matching grants from the World Bank through the Project for Agriculture Commercialization and Trade (PACT). The other three areas are Lalitpur, Kavrepalanchowk, and Kaski. Project status documents support claims of increased coffee production despite citing areas where agricultural development has moved at a slower pace than expected. In 2014, a results statement stated, "PACT has so far supported more than 124 cooperatives, 65 farmer groups, 54 private entrepreneurs and 8 producer associations, reaching out to around 42,800 beneficiaries, of which over 42% are women."