Jan. 27, 2014
The "microlots" topic hits several issues that are extremely relevant to resiliency in coffee. So it is significant that today, Counter Culture Coffee posted Phase II of their research to understand the impact of microlots.
Click here to read their helpful introduction to this phase of the project and click here to see the full report, also posted on Artisan Coffee Imports website. Artisan Coffee Imports assisted with the analysis of the data collected in this phase of their project -- a wonderful collaboration that provided learning for all sides.
Resiliency issues, and reasons why this type of research is important are:
"Direct Traders" claim they are benefiting producers, they even claim they are benefiting producers more than the Fair Trade system. Is there evidence to support it? Do all "direct traders" operate the same way?
Resiliency has to do with bio-diversity. Are there ways incentive systems, like those employed by Virmax and discussed in this report, can be used to encourage bio-diversity and thereby improve producers ability to absorb shocks?
Research issues also came to light with this report:
1. A pilot run of the questionnaire, or even several pilots run with producers could help fine tune the questions. Also, the pilot data (both quantitative and qualitative) could have been assembled so that it was clear which types of analysis the full data (once collected) would enable.
2. A control group or baseline data would help to verify that the impacts and benefits of the microlot program can be attributed to the microlot program.
3. Cupping data collected on all the coffee included in the study (microlot and the control group) would enable more conclusive insights one which growing practices may be having an impact.
Going Further and Farther With This Research:
There is much more that can be done with the data Counter Culture has collected. Even more could be done if Virmax continues to collaborate and find value in understanding which of their innovative processes are doing the most to improve producer livelihoods. The following are questions that could be pursued in phase III:
Does paying microlot premiums increase the volume (quantity) of 86+ coffee produced in a region? Another way to ask this question is, 'at what level of premium payment, does the premium actually change a producer's decisions on the quantity vs. quality trade-off?'
Does paying incrementally higher premiums for incrementally higher scoring coffees impact the average cup quality of all coffees receiving microlot premiums in a given region? In other words, does a roaster's investment in incentive programs actually "pay off" in terms of creating more higher quality coffees than would otherwise be the case?
Add controls for exogenous factors that occurred over the three years of this study -- price volatility, Federation policies to encourage planting Colombia varieties, etc.
We will look at more of these types of questions in the upcoming blogs.
Showing posts with label Counter Culture Coffee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Counter Culture Coffee. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
7. How Artisan Got Involved in Counter Culture's Research Project
Jan. 22, 2014
I was honored to be allowed to work with Counter CultureCoffee (CCC) to analyze the data in their study, "Impact of Microlot Premiums on Smallholder Coffee Producers in Southern Colombia: How Premiums Are Invested and Farming Practices Employed." As a coffee importer (www.ArtisanCoffeeImports.com) and
a master’s student studying sustainable
development for coffee communities (www.csus.msu.edu/), studying the impact of any program designed to benefit coffee producers would be of interest.
This one was extra tantalizing for a few reasons:
1. I had not yet
seen any research on the impact of microlot premiums using parametric (i.e. numerical) data, so
this seemed to be ground-breaking.
2. I myself was very
curious to see some rigorous analysis of the assumption that “paying more helps
the producers.” When Kim Elena Ionescu lead the roundtable discussion at the
Roasters Guild Retreat in August 2013 on “microlot myths”, it was frustrating
to me that research results in that workshop were so vague compared to the
next workshop. In the following workshop, SCAA’s “coffee scientist” spent two
hours walking us through her randomly controlled trial experiments to test the
effects of roast degree on coffee taste. My
interest was to see impacts on producers investigated with the same care and
validity, and here was an opportunity to be part of helping that happen.
3. The research
combined quantitative and qualitative methods in a way that, in my experience
so far as a development economist, is rare. However, qualitative research has
come a long way in the 20 years since I studied for my first masters degree (in
international development). So I was curious to see how the combination could
work.
4. The data was
already collected, cleaned and formatted. It was just waiting in spreadsheets
to be analyzed. In other words, much of the hard work of primary research was
already accomplished. This meant getting the work into a final report was
realistically doable – even within the three month timeframe it would need to be,
to fulfill the criteria of a final paper for one of my classes. In other words,
timing was perfect.
5. The study was done with a participatory mindset. From the outset, CCC promised to share the results with the producers who participated in the survey. They made good on that promise. This week (as I write), Hannah Popish (from CCC in North Carolina) is in Colombia presenting the findings to the growers in Huila, Cauca and Tolima. And it's not just presenting, it's visiting. Each meeting includes small groups and the intention is to learn as much as it is to share the research results so far.
6. I said at the beginning of the blog I was 'honored' to work with CCC. That deserves an explanation. For me it's an honor because I admire CCC's boldness in reaching for and developing resiliency. They have been instrumental in developing direct trade relationships in Burundi and now Democratic Republic of Congo. Now I learn Tim Hill has worked on iterations of cupping forms to find a method that will more effectively help him communicate with producers about growing quality coffee. I believe CCC is on the Collaboration for Food Security Council and now participating in an innovative collaboration between Food for Farmers, Root Capital and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters to bring focus and resources to battling leaf rust in Latin America. I understand they will also support the 2014 Potato Taste Conference in Kigali, Rwanda. I could go on, but I'll just say that they also have great coffee. Try some!
7. In case you feel like this is getting to be a bit too boring, reading about the great things CCC has done, don't worry. My critical side will include them, too. Stay tuned...
5. The study was done with a participatory mindset. From the outset, CCC promised to share the results with the producers who participated in the survey. They made good on that promise. This week (as I write), Hannah Popish (from CCC in North Carolina) is in Colombia presenting the findings to the growers in Huila, Cauca and Tolima. And it's not just presenting, it's visiting. Each meeting includes small groups and the intention is to learn as much as it is to share the research results so far.
6. I said at the beginning of the blog I was 'honored' to work with CCC. That deserves an explanation. For me it's an honor because I admire CCC's boldness in reaching for and developing resiliency. They have been instrumental in developing direct trade relationships in Burundi and now Democratic Republic of Congo. Now I learn Tim Hill has worked on iterations of cupping forms to find a method that will more effectively help him communicate with producers about growing quality coffee. I believe CCC is on the Collaboration for Food Security Council and now participating in an innovative collaboration between Food for Farmers, Root Capital and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters to bring focus and resources to battling leaf rust in Latin America. I understand they will also support the 2014 Potato Taste Conference in Kigali, Rwanda. I could go on, but I'll just say that they also have great coffee. Try some!
7. In case you feel like this is getting to be a bit too boring, reading about the great things CCC has done, don't worry. My critical side will include them, too. Stay tuned...
Monday, January 13, 2014
6. The Value of Participatory, Qualitative Research for Coffee
Jan. 13, 2014
How would you define research? Something about uncovering truth? Finding new knowledge? My off-the-cuff definition is, "a systematic process for uncovering new knowledge." As I've re-entered the world of graduate school this past fall, I've been refreshed to see an appreciation of how valuable qualitative and participatory research can be. It seems I'm not the only economist trained during the 80s and 90s who decided that to really understand what happens in developing countries, we need more than predictive econometric models that come close to being randomly controlled trials.
Quantitative methods are important, but they can be more effective when combined with the insights one gets from open-ended questions and in-depth interviews. Ethnography and exploratory study has taken on new levels of competence and value in the world of market research and academic investigations. What is particularly relevant to coffee are the ways in which we are including interviews and discussions with producers themselves. We are placing more value on the opportunities to talk with the people who have generations of knowledge about growing coffee and about the places, the environments and the cultures which surround and support their coffee-growing places.
Example and case in point -- the microlots research on which Counter Culture Coffee and Virmax have collaborated was designed from the ground up to include, not just limited choice type questions, but open ended questions also. (Get a preview of the upcoming study here.) The study is being done with a participatory approach to the extent that the results of the work are being presented and shared with all 122 producers who were surveyed back in January 2013. That, in and of itself, is a "research step" that is too often forgotten. Do we share the results of our research with those who contributed to making the research possible? It may not always be desirable or feasible, but I would suggest that in most cases where it involves coffee producers, it could be extremely valuable.
It seems so easy and so logical, but I think this is a relatively new phenomena: this effort to more comprehensively integrate the things we, as actors at one end of the coffee supply chain, know, with the knowledge producers and other actors at origin have. Qualitative and participatory research can help us get closer to an understanding of where solutions may lie.
How would you define research? Something about uncovering truth? Finding new knowledge? My off-the-cuff definition is, "a systematic process for uncovering new knowledge." As I've re-entered the world of graduate school this past fall, I've been refreshed to see an appreciation of how valuable qualitative and participatory research can be. It seems I'm not the only economist trained during the 80s and 90s who decided that to really understand what happens in developing countries, we need more than predictive econometric models that come close to being randomly controlled trials.
Quantitative methods are important, but they can be more effective when combined with the insights one gets from open-ended questions and in-depth interviews. Ethnography and exploratory study has taken on new levels of competence and value in the world of market research and academic investigations. What is particularly relevant to coffee are the ways in which we are including interviews and discussions with producers themselves. We are placing more value on the opportunities to talk with the people who have generations of knowledge about growing coffee and about the places, the environments and the cultures which surround and support their coffee-growing places.
Example and case in point -- the microlots research on which Counter Culture Coffee and Virmax have collaborated was designed from the ground up to include, not just limited choice type questions, but open ended questions also. (Get a preview of the upcoming study here.) The study is being done with a participatory approach to the extent that the results of the work are being presented and shared with all 122 producers who were surveyed back in January 2013. That, in and of itself, is a "research step" that is too often forgotten. Do we share the results of our research with those who contributed to making the research possible? It may not always be desirable or feasible, but I would suggest that in most cases where it involves coffee producers, it could be extremely valuable.
It seems so easy and so logical, but I think this is a relatively new phenomena: this effort to more comprehensively integrate the things we, as actors at one end of the coffee supply chain, know, with the knowledge producers and other actors at origin have. Qualitative and participatory research can help us get closer to an understanding of where solutions may lie.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
4. What is Good Research?
Jan. 9, 2014
The professor in one of my graduate classes at Michigan State University yesterday offered this list to help evaluate "what is good research." This was of extreme interest to me, having just been in the trenches of field data analysis with Counter Culture Coffee. Artisan Coffee Imports assisted in the final phases of research on the topic of "the impact of microlot premiums for coffee producers in Colombia". I am happy to share that I believe Counter Culture's forthcoming report will score relatively high marks on most of these seven points. My comments shed light on the ones that can be difficult or may be less applicable in some cases. Counter Culture's project is a great illustration of #7: good research points the way to doing even better research in the future.
Good research:
1. Is based on the work of others. (Difficult to do as a business with little time for conducting literature reviews. Employ an intern to help.)
2. Can be replicated. (Thus it is important to document both the methods of data collection and the methods of analysis.)
3. Is generalizable to other settings. (This is true for quantitative research. Often qualitative research and assessments are not as concerned with generalizing to a larger population.)
4. Not done in intellectual isolation.
5. Is doable (scope is not so vast the research is never complete.)
6. Is apolitical.
7. Research is on-going (always generates new questions.)
The professor in one of my graduate classes at Michigan State University yesterday offered this list to help evaluate "what is good research." This was of extreme interest to me, having just been in the trenches of field data analysis with Counter Culture Coffee. Artisan Coffee Imports assisted in the final phases of research on the topic of "the impact of microlot premiums for coffee producers in Colombia". I am happy to share that I believe Counter Culture's forthcoming report will score relatively high marks on most of these seven points. My comments shed light on the ones that can be difficult or may be less applicable in some cases. Counter Culture's project is a great illustration of #7: good research points the way to doing even better research in the future.
Good research:
1. Is based on the work of others. (Difficult to do as a business with little time for conducting literature reviews. Employ an intern to help.)
2. Can be replicated. (Thus it is important to document both the methods of data collection and the methods of analysis.)
3. Is generalizable to other settings. (This is true for quantitative research. Often qualitative research and assessments are not as concerned with generalizing to a larger population.)
4. Not done in intellectual isolation.
5. Is doable (scope is not so vast the research is never complete.)
6. Is apolitical.
7. Research is on-going (always generates new questions.)
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
3. Counter Culture Talks About How to "Just Do It"
Jan. 8, 2014
Counter Culture Coffee has shared some insights with the coffee industry on the study they've conducted at origin, with producers in three Colombian states (Huila, Cauca and Tolima) to better understand the impact of microlot premiums. Artisan Coffee Imports has been very excited to be a part of this project. It's refreshing to see a direct-trade roaster decide to investigate carefully the assumptions many have about the benefits producers are receiving when we pay higher prices for coffee.
This is a YouTube video of the Google-hangout Counter Culture hosted earlier today. It runs a full hour:
http://www.youtube.com/
Counter Culture Coffee has shared some insights with the coffee industry on the study they've conducted at origin, with producers in three Colombian states (Huila, Cauca and Tolima) to better understand the impact of microlot premiums. Artisan Coffee Imports has been very excited to be a part of this project. It's refreshing to see a direct-trade roaster decide to investigate carefully the assumptions many have about the benefits producers are receiving when we pay higher prices for coffee.
This is a YouTube video of the Google-hangout Counter Culture hosted earlier today. It runs a full hour:
http://www.youtube.com/
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