Poor Farmer

By Bloomberg News November 24, 2013 Phung Thi Huu is embracing the global movement toward sustainable coffee two decades after she first planted the crop and brought her family out of poverty. “Coffee changed my life,” said Huu, a diminutive 53-year-old farmer with calloused hands and weathered skin in the coffee-rich Dak Lak province. “The future is brighter.” The adoption of certified coffee in Vietnam comes as bean prices slumped  35 percent from a March high to 29,600 dong ($1.40) a kilogram on Nov. 7,  the lowest since October 2010 and threatening farmers’ income, data from the  Dak Lak Trade & Tourism Center show. The price was 32,400 dong on Nov. 22.  Photographer: Jerome Ming/Bloomberg She’s among thousands of Vietnamese farmers who benefited from coffee, which enabled her to expand her modest farm, buy family members motorbikes and provide her grandchildren with opportunities. Vietnam, the world’s biggest producer of...

Brent Swails and Oliver Joy CNN November 19, 2013 (CNN) -- In the hills of Burundi, farmers tend their coffee crop. Their livelihoods depend on a good harvest. Coffee in the small central African nation is more than just a hot drink; it's a valuable commodity that props up Burundi's agrarian-based economy. The world of Starbucks baristas and double macchiatos are an alien concept to coffee growers in one of Africa's poorest nations, where 55% of the population earns their livelihood from Arabica beans. Chantal Ka-Hor-Rury, a coffee trader and head of a collective that helps farmers bring their crop to market, is committed to helping Burundi expand its coffee industry. The market is very low but it does not discourage us because when you have a lot to sell you always make a lot of money. "We chose to cultivate coffee because in our country, it's a crop that gives a lot of money," she said. Coffee accounts for 80% of Bu...

Coffee growers are combating a killer fungus and rock-bottom pay. Global Post November 9, 2013 LIMA, Peru — Are you paying a fair price for your latte every morning? More than fair, you might think, given the occasional criticisms that Starbucks, the world’s most popular specialty coffee retailer, is too expensive. But try telling that to the farmers in Latin America who grow most of the world’s premium java and, in many cases, are not even making ends meet.  Current rock-bottom prices for coffee beans — below cost for many of the region’s growers — and a crushing outbreak of coffee leaf rust, a fungus that slashes harvests, are making their lives a misery. Although the picture is uneven, from the lush fields of Chiapas, in southern Mexico, to the Andean foothills, many growers are caught in the pincer. The problem is at its most intense in Mexico, Central America and Peru, which together produce roughly 30 million 132-pound sacks a year of ara...