The world must move towards sustainable coffee production and fair trade with farmers, something that involves governments, companies and consumers, Gally Mayer, who works with dozens of organic and regenerative coffee producers in Costa Rica, said.
Coffee is one of the most important agricultural products in Costa Rica and its responsible production is vital for the environment and the country’s economy, explains Mayer, who assures that the way in which coffee growers are paid in the country to promote a new type of incentives for sustainable agriculture and support for local communities.
Mayer, co-founder of Buena Vida Café Orgánico, assured in an interview that a quintal of coffee is paid to the producer in Costa Rica at $180 or a maximum of $400 if it is specialty coffee.
However, with that quintal, coffee shops can generate up to $16,000 in sales of cups of coffee.”What they (the industry) want is for them to produce more to have more volume and not a better price, and that is where we are destroying the land,” explained the producer, who assured that the coffee grower should receive at least $1,000 per quintal.
Coffee, Climate Crisis And Migration
According to Mayer, this situation also causes climate and migratory crises, since many times a person who picks coffee receives 1,800 colones (2.5 dollars) per hour, when in the United States they are paid 20 dollars an hour to clean bathrooms.
Another of the needs for the sustainability of the sector in Costa Rica and worldwide is to move towards organic and regenerative production: “if I do not take care of the land with the correct fertilizer and sustainable or regenerative fertilizers and I want my production to triple, it doesn’t work and we have a climate and migratory crisis.
Mayer, co-founder of Buena Vida Organic Coffee and part of the Artemis Rising Foundation, said that this is one of the plants that most sequester nutrients from the soil and it is important to promote truly organic coffee and regenerate the soil.
“The earth is very sick but there is no guide on how to switch to a regenerative model. We are creating this guide with the Government and various organizations”, she declared.
Regeneration consists of creating living soils, that the land has its nutrients again in a natural way, but in the world there is little clarity about the rules in this regard, Mayer said.
“We must try to move to regenerative coffee and, if not, that there is an intention to lower the chemical and take care of the land. First you have to take care of the land, its health, make sure there are microorganisms,” she said.
Certification, Credits and Zero Intermediaries
Mayer works with 40 organic and regenerative coffee producers in Costa Rica and affirms that little by little there is more interest and awareness in this type of production, but regretted that the certification process becomes too difficult and that there is little assistance and advice to the producer by the authorities.The producer said that it is also working with a private bank to get better access to credit for producers in Costa Rica.
Another area in which Mayer is collaborating is the opening of international markets so that Costa Rican coffee growers can sell their coffee directly, without intermediaries, and receive better prices.
Mayer commented that sustainable coffee production can be more profitable for farmers in the long run, as they can command higher prices for their high-quality coffee.
