I Am Young at Origin (And that’s just not right) by Craig Holt, Atlas Coffee Importers This isn’t revelatory information. Most of us have heard the statistics. Estimates put the average coffee grower somewhere between 54 and 56 years old. Lots of people I talk to would say that’s on the low side, but let’s go with it for now. That statistic by itself is only mildly surprising at first glance. 56, after all, isn’t exactly the ragged edge of senility. The number looks worse, though, when you consider that the average retirement age here in the United States is around 63 years. And here’s the real bummer part of the story – no one is replacing these coffee growers when they walk off into the proverbial sunset.
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etting old is, generally speaking, a pain in the butt. When it comes to coffee farming, aging is one of the major issues facing our industry. When I go to coffee events in consuming countries, I suffer the unpleasant realization that I’ve become The Old Guy. While I like to think I’m still relevant, the simple fact remains that our segment of the coffee industry is driven by young people. This is a good thing. Hell, you could even say that’s how it’s supposed to be; as the old guard becomes set in its ways, a new crowd comes along to revitalize the industry. This is how the Specialty Coffee Association of America arose several decades ago, and it’s what drove the creation of the Roaster’s Guild, the Barista Guild, etc. The infusion of fresh blood means new ideas and healthy change. If it also means I end up feeling like a crusty old codger at the parties, so be it. But here’s the problem; the only two places I still feel like The Young Guy are on cruise ships, and coffee farms. I’m not saying the air at origin has magical healing powers, or that I found the fountain of youth in the Andes, somewhere near the Huila/Cauca border, on the banks of the Rio Paez. I’m telling you that, quite literally, I’m younger than most of the coffee growers with whom I work. And while it’s fun for me to not be the grandad in the room once in a while, it’s a major issue for the coffee industry.
The children of coffee growers don’t want to stay on the farm because, in simple terms, it’s too much work for not enough profit. The effort required to grow specialty coffee is massive, cost of production is constantly rising, and whether or not the farm will be profitable in any given year is uncertain. In short, coffee growers don’t get paid enough for the work they do. We don’t pay them enough to keep the younger generation in the business. Again, this shouldn’t surprise you. If you’re even remotely informed of the industry we work in, you’re aware of this problem. And yet… And yet, the problem persists. Even as the specialty industry thrives, the prices we pay for the product on which our success is founded are, in a word, crap. Sure, people can point to the amazing high prices being paid at auctions, but the volume of coffee sold in those auctions is a rounding error in the context of the overall specialty trade. There’s also a huge push toward relationship coffees, and development work at origin. And while all of that has been helpful to a small subset of the coffee producers, the fact remains that young people aren’t staying on coffee farms.
of the supply chain. By showing young people that growing coffee makes them a vital part of a global industry, and keeping them in contact with the people who buy – and consume – their product, we can mitigate the isolation involved in coffee farming. The work will always be hard, but having a better sense of the results of your work can make it more gratifying. The government of Antioquia ran a very successful program for the children of coffee farmers a few years ago, which could serve as a great model for this kind of effort. Finally, and most importantly, we need to pay a better price for the quality of coffee we need. All the other stuff – the development work, the relationships, the education, the righteousness and the teary-eyed good intentions - is just pissing in the wind if we’re not willing to give coffee growers the money they deserve for their hard work. Historically, even in specialty, we ask, “What’s the lowest price possible for the quality I need?” If we’re going to inspire the next generation of coffee farmers to stick with this industry, we need to ask, “What’s a fair price for the quality I need?” And maybe, if we can manage that crucial paradigm shift, the average age of coffee farmers will start to drop - and I’ll get to feel just as old when I visit origin as I do when I go to trade shows up here.
So what can we do? First of all, we need to continue to make coffee education available to growers. The more growers understand about agronomy, processing, cupping and the trade itself, the more aware they will be of the value of their product. Armed with this knowledge, they can be better prepared to negotiate a fair price for their coffee. Secondly, we need to focus on connecting the next generation of coffee growers to the rest Craig Holt, Atlas Coffee Importers
26 December 2017