BITTER BEANS
Foreword This study of the coffee crisis in India provides a good starting point for the Coffee Coalition and the Coffee Support Network, platforms in which (Dutch) NGO’s coordinate their efforts to improve quality in the global coffee chain including social and environmental quality. The two platforms developed already experiences in other important coffee producing countries and intend to intensify their efforts in India. In this study the growing share of sustainable/certified quality coffee in India is identified, as well as major buyers in the Indian coffee chain.. The study comes with a list of valuable recommendations. It suggests amongst others that roasters and traders take responsibility in improving the conditions in the coffee value chain. This can be a starting point for NGO’s. NGO’s can cooperate with those roasters and traders prepared to take such responsibility. Longer term contracts can be established between buyers, farmer groups, local training organizations and (donor) NGO’s. The buyers show their commitment by contributing to the costs of those investments in quality and they play a role in communicating consumer quality preferences. Also in India buyers and NGOs can cooperate to establish and maintain a level playing field, where free riders are banned: even if there is ample offer of quality coffee, the buyers will not pay less than a decent price for the required quality, otherwise their own investment in quality coffee will get lost again. Starting from the data in this study a joint planning
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