how co-ops spur organic farming in the global south

How Co-ops Spur Organic Farming in

the Global South

NOFA Summer Conference 2014

Rodney North worker-owner

www.EqualExchange.coop

•  !cellphones!

•  !evalua-ons!

•  !literature!

•  !WARNING:!Not!an!expert!!

•  Who!here!is/has!been:!

•  An!organic!farmer?!

•  Gone!through!cer-fica-on?!•  Member!of!a!farmer!coBop?!

•  Member!of!a!food!coBop?!

•  Worked!with!small!farmers!in!the!Majority!

World?!

•  …with!organic!farmers!in!the!….?!

•  With!farmer!coBops!in!the!…?!

PLEASE!DIVE!IN!/!SPEAK!UP!

•  !Why!does!this!maRer?!

•  !Why!does!this!maRer!to!you?!

•  !Why!do!YOU!maRer!to!it?!

PRODECOOP,!Nicaragua!

Las!Colinas,!El!Salvador!

What%makes%a%co,opera/ve?%

•  Voluntary!&!Open!Membership!

•  Democra-c!Member!Control!

•  Member!Economic!Par-cipa-on!

•  Autonomy!&!Independence!

•  Educa-on,!Training,!&!Informa-on!

•  CoBopera-on!Among!CoBopera-ves!

•  Concern!for!Community!

→%

What’s!the!role!of!co,opera/ves,!from!the!organic!farm!to!the!cup?!

What!does!it!take!to!farm!successfully?!

!!

What!does!it!take!to!farm!successfully?!!

(a!very!rough,!incomplete!summa5on)!

Seasonal%work%(for!coffee!farmers)!

!

Select!crops/varietals!!

!prepare!soil/orchards!

! !fer-lize!!

! ! !weed!!

! ! ! !harvest!!

! ! ! ! !gather/sort!harvest!!

! ! ! ! ! !wet!processing!

dry!coffee!

!collect,!usually!with!vehicles!!

! !warehouse!!

! ! !more!milling/maybe!drying/more!sor-ng!!

! ! ! !quality!control!work!

! ! ! ! !export!sales!work!!

! ! ! ! ! !arranging!transporta-on!

follow!through!on!contracts/dealing!w/postBdelivery!problems!

What!does!it!take!to!farm!successfully?!!

(a!very!rough,!incomplete!summa5on)!

+%Year,round%work%%!

Sales/!finding!customers!!

!

marke-ng!&!promo-on!

!

securing!credit!!

What!does!it!take!to!farm!successfully?!!

!

Seasonal%work%(for!coffee!farmers)!

!

Select!organic!crops/varietals!!

!organically!prepare!soil/orchards!

! !fer-lize!w/organic!inputs!

! ! !weed!without!pes-cides!

! ! ! !harvest!separately!

! ! ! ! !gather/sort!harvest!&!segregate!

! ! ! ! ! !wet!processing!separately!

dry!coffee!separately!

!collect,!usually!with!vehicles!separately!

! !warehouse!separately!

! ! !more!milling/maybe!drying/more!sor-ng!separately!

! ! ! !quality!control!work!separately!

! ! ! ! !export!sales!work!separately!

! ! ! ! ! !arranging!transporta-on!separately!

follow!through!on!contracts/dealing!w/postBdelivery!problems!separately!

!!organically!!

!!!!!!!!!!!˄%

Farmer!income:!$2,000/yr!!

cer-fica-on!cost:!$500/yr!!!(25%!of!income)!

Total!San!Fernando!co,op!farmer!income:!!

$2,000/yr%x%400%=%$800,000!!

Group!cer-fica-on!cost:!$4,900/yr!!!!(<1%!of!income)!