Abstract
4C is the private sector standard implemented in Thailand since 2010 which aimed to improve the sustainability of coffee farmers. The present study seeks to investigate the farmers’ attitude towards 4C and QGAP satisfaction and examine the critical role of the private sector towards achieving success following 4C guidelines which it has actively supported. Structured questionnaires were distributed to 128 coffee farmers in seven villages of two districts in Chumphon province which is the biggest coffee cultivation area in Thailand. 4C could easily be adapted by Thai coffee farmers. The main reason of some farmers (21.8%) for following 4C’s procedure was because 4C contents were not much different from their conventional farming. The 4C extension service could encourage the farmers’ participation because they could increase productivity through the 4C services which had much more flexibility than QGAP services’ procedure. In addition, the famers did not need to pay any cost for the 4C registration. 4C has advantageous points because of provided specific market, extension services of 4C unit, and easy to adopt with conventional farming methods. Key words: The common code for coffee community (4C), private sector standard, Chumphon province, Thailand.
Highlights
Coffee is a primary cash crop for many countries around the world and is often critical for the economies of largely agricultural countries
In the 1990s one of the major events affecting the performance of the global coffee industry was the entry of Vietnam as a leading coffee producer (Ponte, 2002) which led to the coffee crisis when world prices fell to their lowest levels (Charveriat, 2001; Gresser and Tickel, 2002)
When coffee prices fell and markets became saturated, the farmers and producers got less and less for their products even when coffee consumption level worldwide slightly increased (Watson, 2008). This anomalous situation wherein demand failed to meet growing supply has clearly favored consumers mostly in Western countries to the economic disadvantage of producers mostly in developing countries in Asia, Africa and South America (Kolk, 2005). It needs swift action for more fair and equitable trade practices to prevent a total collapse of the coffee industry (Giovannuci, 2008; Glitter et al, 2011)
Summary
Coffee is a primary cash crop for many countries around the world and is often critical for the economies of largely agricultural countries. When coffee prices fell and markets became saturated, the farmers and producers got less and less for their products even when coffee consumption level worldwide slightly increased (Watson, 2008) This anomalous situation wherein demand failed to meet growing supply has clearly favored consumers mostly in Western countries to the economic disadvantage of producers mostly in developing countries in Asia, Africa and South America (Kolk, 2005). It needs swift action for more fair and equitable trade practices to prevent a total collapse of the coffee industry (Giovannuci, 2008; Glitter et al, 2011)
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