The SCAA Coffee Cerrado region of origin fairs names widely sought 

Seattle held on April 24-27, the 26th SCAA fairs, coffee names of origin Cerrado region of Minas Gerais widely sought after. Cerrado region includes 55 towns and 4,500 coffee growers, coffee production an average of more than 5 million bags per year. In order to obtain a certificate issued by the Federation cerrado, coffee growers must comply with a series of regulations, including environmental protection and social responsibility practice, they need to be stored in a warehouse coffee federation, and each of Arabica planting elevation higher than 800 m (2,600 ft). 

 

Coffee coffee industry plagued by illegal trade in seeds 

Procafé Foundation and the National Coffee Association noted that Brazil illegally exported to other countries in the coffee seed increase. This species usually involves illegal acts are those developed through years of research institutions in Brazil and showed a high resistance to pests and or seed / high yield, which may have constituted a phytosanitary threat. Procafé estimated that in 2013 about the coffee seeds smuggled 30 tons, the equivalent of 120 million seeds will grow 30,000 hectares (7.4 million acres) of land. Part of the smuggled from other countries to be included in Brazil's coffee tour representatives, including some involved in cooperation projects in the staff. In the formal market, the cost price of 1kg of seeds in Brazil currency 25 yuan to 30 yuan ($ 11 to $ 13.5) between. 

 

The future of small quantities of coffee growers and small farmers 

With the strong trend of small quantities of coffee cultivation and benefits obtained from the face of these coffee growers can no longer cover their cost of living increases and raise expectations, when people without asking whether this is a small family farmers out of the woods, to help their children achieve the desired city life in a solution? The answer is that small quantities of coffee plantations helpful but far from being a clear solution. 

 

At issue in the highly competitive market of small coffee growers face is the lack of household income; small quantities of coffee plantations may have some help, but their niche market is very short. Moreover, given the high price niche market may be an excuse to avoid reducing costs, thus planting small quantities will not be able to increase productivity. 

 

Even small quantities of planting also requires a certain size. According to their own circumstances, they must form a certain scale of small family farmers' groups. Small quantities of planting must also determine shipping matters, because their coffee production is far from a container capacity. Even the direct trade also need to meet certain minimum size requirements, but can not get alone guarantee delivery price premium protection. So what's the solution be? 

 

To ensure that small farmers have a viable future growers real challenge is to create some market policies rather than subsidies to ensure that they are able to achieve a certain scale and production efficiency without losing their identity. Convinced that the traditional production, processing systems and labor-intensive practice just to ensure the quality of sustainability indicators rather than business. On the contrary, these approaches will lead to future growers suffered far more than most people imagine poverty. Do not have unreal business idea, namely, that it will be more professional and more competitive, and will be better in all aspects, including production, including! 

 

Growers will gather together to make it the best way to get economies of scale in purchasing, marketing and delivery technologies that cooperatives, but not always successful cooperatives case columns. Cooperatives worked well in some countries and in some countries it is not so good, while in other countries it almost did not see. Even in some of the major producing countries, such as Brazil, co-operation in some areas than in other parts of the good. Although the law in most countries the minimum requirements are clearly defined profit cooperatives, but usually financial aspects, not restrictions on cooperatives. 

 

Another alternative is to coffee growers cooperative organization Association, which requires less and quite profitable, in some countries and regions, widely favored. But it seems more for market development, publicity and promotion, rather than the pursuit of economies of scale in production, processing and marketing. 

 

In addition to the institutional and financial means to attract growers to work together and integrate the business is the easiest means of sharing costs, especially the kind of relationship fixed. Integration growers most common way is to buy planting material inputs - fertilizers, pesticides, etc. - sharing equipment, as well as sales of coffee together. This seems obvious, but the growers to focus together to make these things is not easy, because they lack confidence in each other, leading to poor management and a lack of legal and fiscal framework to support the operation of the above-mentioned contents. Central processing plants, such as peeling / cleaning or drying equipment may play development, the role of organized groups of seed growers and catalyst. 

 

To share investment and processing costs, and to facilitate small farmers, specialty coffee and coffee growers of high-quality central processing plants often make the initial reason most growers gathered together. After the first group activities either upward integration - buy planting materials and shared investment in other aspects of the equipment, such as sprinkler irrigation and harvesting equipment, or down consolidation, sales of coffee, or both. The latter is the most difficult to achieve, even if the identity of each batch of coffee beans are entered in the traceability system. Even if joint processing does not weaken or strengthen other collective action, but on the behavior of this one was shared their favorite massive economic justified. For example, given a thousand people accompanied by planting small peeling machine required investment may be needed investment to build the same production capacity of 10-15 times the central peeling plants, that is, on a one thousand growers peeling products processing. 

 

Now is the governments, development agencies, and even the sustainability standards organizations began to devote more attention to the small family grower groups and / or integrated organization of the time, in order to avoid in the near future, they either disappear or perish for large business labor suppliers. Cooperatives, associations, central processing plant in the path of development and certification bodies is correct, but the institutional and financial support, and innovative forms of association also needs to speed up the process, before it is too late. 

 

Small quantities of coffee processing 

Individual growers or central processing plant in the use of wet processing equipment Pinhalense small quantities of coffee and coffee can fully retain their original characteristics and quality characteristics.