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Ecuadorian Farmers Facing Coffee and Cocoa Production Quality Labels

Abstract:

Quality labels refer to the adoption of voluntary standards by producers to highlight the quality to consumers and customers. Usually in agrofood, these focus on aspects of production systems and intrinsic characteristics of products. In agricultural production, quality labels focusing on ethical and environmental aspects have a high spectrum globally. The objective of this study was analyzing the farmers’ perceptions toward production with quality labels in cocoa and coffee in Ecuador. The information used comes from the development of two focus group sessions and 157 surveys addressed to producers. According to the results, environmentally friendly production systems represent an advantage and a disadvantage for farmers. When comparing farmers who produce with and without quality labels, it was found that issues related to market access are further motivating farmers to produce superior quality. Finally, from the producers’ point of view, the premium price paid for product certification is debatable.