Coffee, Poverty, and Environment

Abstract

In the 1990s, the world coffee production increased dramatically due to the coffee boom in the world market as well as the efforts of farmers, governments, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Stimulated by the high prices and supported by the government and NGOs, many countries began to promote growing coffee trees. However, the high coffee price in the world market was not the only reason for the promotion. Coffee was considered as an important measure to alleviate poverty in the mountainous areas. The natural conditions for growing coffee are the mountainous areas where other popular agricultural crops may not be suitable. Because of the lack of suitable commercial crops, the people living in the mountainous areas, who are often conducting shifting cultivation, are usually considered poor