Paths to internalizing technologies aimed at socio-environmental sustainability and women empowerment in coffee production: case study of “Fair Trade” certification

Since the 19th century, the Brazilian coffee has been one of the main products of agricultural exportations. The Brazilian coffee holds recognition worldwide for its grain quality, which improved after 1990 in the wake of the crisis in the commodity market. This crisis boosted innovation of crops and gave rise to concerns of consumers with socio-environmental issues regarding the products that they consume. Thus, the Fair Trade market emerges as an alternative for sustainable and fair agriculture. However, producers still face obstacles to obtain certification. Therefore, it is important to analyze their experiences of internalizing this technology into their properties as well as the scope of socioeconomic development of women coffee farmers. This study used a questionnaire with semi-open questions and a record of the interviews with producers from two different coffee producing regions in Brazil. The results show the economic impact of different managements, differences in life histories of producers and paths to women empowerment in coffee growing, as well as similar difficulties and successes of organizations of family farmers, in addition to the expected diversity between the productive systems. We also identified the emergence of challenges regarding transformations in the coffee market.