How Effective is Multiple Certification in Improving the Economic Conditions of Smallholder Farmers? Evidence from an Impact Evaluation in Colombia’s Coffee Belt

Voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) in the coffee sector have become a popular tool to improve the livelihoods of smallholder coffee farmers. As third-party and company-led VSS have proliferated, an increasing number of producer groups are turning toward multiple certification to diversify their export channels. Yet, each certification requires added efforts and expenses, both at the farm and the organisational level. Hence, it is important to evaluate the additionality of multiple certification in bringing benefits to smallholders’ farm economy. This study addresses this research gap using a sample of over 600 coffee farmers from two Fairtrade-certified cooperatives in Colombia’s coffee belt to assess the additional economic impact of Starbucks C.A.F.E. Practices, Nespresso AAA, 4C, and the combination of Rainforest Alliance/Nespresso AAA certification. In examining coffee gross profit and household income, we find limited gains from the addition of industry and company-led standards to the Fairtrade certification. Evaluating pathways to improved economic performance, gross profit improvements appear most likely if higher average prices are combined with lower production costs. Finally, we show that the majority of farmers are unable to break even, irrespective of their certification status. This alarming result illustrates the need for further intervention in the coffee value chain.

咖啡行业的自愿性可持续标准（Voluntary Sustainability Standards，VSS）已成为改善小农咖啡种植户生计的热门手段。随着第三方及企业主导的VSS不断涌现，越来越多的生产者群体开始转向多重认证以拓展出口渠道。然而，无论是在农场层面还是组织层面，每一项认证都需要额外投入人力与资金成本。因此，评估多重认证为小农农场经济带来的附加效应具有重要意义。本研究针对这一研究空白展开，以哥伦比亚咖啡带两家持有公平贸易（Fairtrade）认证的合作社的600余名咖啡种植户为样本，评估星巴克C.A.F.E.实践、奈斯派索AAA认证、4C认证以及雨林联盟/奈斯派索AAA组合认证所带来的额外经济影响。在分析咖啡毛利润与家庭收入的过程中，我们发现，在公平贸易认证基础上叠加行业及企业主导的可持续标准，仅能带来有限的收益提升。在探究提升经济绩效的路径时，研究表明，若能在提高平均收购价格的同时降低生产成本，则最有可能实现咖啡毛利润的增长。最后，我们发现，无论是否持有相关认证，绝大多数农户都无法实现收支平衡。这一令人警醒的结果表明，咖啡价值链亟需进一步的干预与优化。