Information technologies and education for a sustainable coffee sector
Written by Francisco Hidalgo
After climate change, the lack of generational replacement is most likely the biggest threat to coffee production on a global scale. Mirroring global geographic dynamics – and as a consequence of the economic hardships faced by millions of coffee producers – new generations choose to migrate from rural areas towards cities seeking job opportunities and better access to goods and services such as education.
According to data gathered by the Honduran Coffee Institute (IHCAFE) in 2019 and published by Reuters, of the 990 coffee producers interviewed, 5.4% had at least one relative who had left for the United States between May and July of that year. Although this is a small sample of the total population, it shows the scope of the problem. As a consequence of these massive migrations, rural areas experience depopulation, abandonment of farming activities, labor shortages, and loss of traditional knowledge.
While Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) alone may not be enough to change this, they can play an important role in changing the dynamics. In this sense, the communication challenges generated by COVID-19 and the lockdowns greatly accelerated the adoption of these technologies. Learning processes were also impacted, creating space for developing distance learning for all ages.
Picture by Francisco Hidalgo
Technology as a solution to the lack of generational replacement
In an attempt to understand the extent of the usage of digital technologies in the coffee sector, the University of Hohenheim (Germany) interviewed 73 coffee-producing families in the Colombian regions of Antioquia, Risaralda and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. The research project, carried out between December 2021 and February 2022, showed that the use of computers, tablets and smartphones had increased in some cases during the pandemic due to the need of the youngest family members to continue with their education. To that end, they used the space created by the schools and universities that remained open during the lockdowns, but this time remotely, using digital platforms such as Zoom or Whatsapp.
In some cases, this has allowed young people to remain in their farms and take part in coffee production activities. Furthermore, this even promoted innovation at farm level, as they were able to implement what they were learning remotely. Far from ceasing once life goes back to normal in farms, it is expected that this dynamic will expand due to the benefits reaped, the experience gained, and the investments made when buying devices and internet access. That is what some interviewees claimed when asked if they would continue to engage in distance learning and keep their internet connection after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. It is clear, then, that virtual education is here to stay, which means that rural communities will have easier access to training opportunities without having to leave their regions.
Coffee farms are also fertile ground for applying the knowledge acquired thanks to virtual education – in particular, in areas such as agronomy, business administration, quality control, and barista services. An example of this would be Carlos, son of a coffee producer of Risaralda. His Agriculture Business degree dissertation discusses the implementation of a beekeeping project within his family’s coffee farm. Another example would be Edwin, a 16-year-old who is learning about coffee quality processes on his phone with the hope to implement his new skills on the coffee farm where he lives.
Picture by Francisco Hidalgo
The great challenge of digital exclusion
Despite their great potential, there are still important barriers that prevent rural communities from capitalizing on the opportunities created by ICTs. In most cases, it was the families who had to finance the adoption of virtual education, including paying for internet access and purchasing devices. This expenditure is not possible for many coffee producers, which limits access to ICTs in rural areas and, hence, to the benefits derived from them.
Digital exclusion is greater in rural areas compared to cities. The International Telecommunication Union (ITC) reported in 2018 that about 89% of the urban population in countries in the Global South owned a mobile phone, while only 63% of the rural population had access to one (1). The National Institute of Statistics and Geography of Mexico (INEGI) found similar results in 2020 when researching internet access in the country. According to INEGI data, 76.6% of the urban population had internet access, while only 48% of the rural population did (2). This is one of the reasons why many people still move to the city to pursue education.
According to the research done by the University of Hohenheim, many young people would rather stay in their coffee farms with their families if they had the option to access virtual education. However, the difficulty in accessing the internet and digital equipment forces them to migrate. This, in turn, creates in them a feeling of being uprooted and pushes them to adopt a new lifestyle away from the fields.
Promoting connectivity in coffee-growing regions and facilitating access to ICTs can slow down the migration flow from rural areas to cities and other countries. The most useful tools are computers and tablets, as smartphones have smaller screens that make it difficult to input large amounts of text, rendering them less suitable for formal educational processes. Interinstitutional cooperation and strong public policies for digital development in rural areas are mandatory if a more democratic access to virtual education and other benefits of ICTs are to be achieved. These policies should be built on knowledge about the way these technologies are used among coffee farmers and cooperatives, and the challenges they face. And that is exactly what the University of Hohenheim’s research project aims to do.
While the analysis of the interviews has only just begun, interesting data is already surfacing. Describing the link between online education, migration, and innovation at the farm level is a way of highlighting the importance of ICTs and the need for rural areas to have easier access to them in order to bolster the sustainability of the coffee value chain. Researchers expect to identify other similarly relevant dynamics once the analysis is completed.
Picture by Francisco Hidalgo
ICTs as drivers of innovation and sustainability in farms
It is important to understand that young people are more likely to stay in their farms, participate in farming activities and actively build their lives around coffee if they are given access to virtual education options. Furthermore, access to ICTs can promote innovation and business organization processes in farms thanks to the knowledge gained; create new business opportunities, and facilitate market access thanks to e-commerce platforms and social media.
Better access to technologies and connectivity would therefore contribute to the sustainability of coffee activities and the continuation of the socio-economic benefits derived from such an important activity for society and the competitiveness of producing countries.
References
(1) Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (ITU). 2018. ICTs, LDCs and the SDGs: Achieving Universal and Affordable Internet in the LDCs. Thematic Report. In Partnership with the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS), ITU, Geneva, Switzerland.
(2) INEGI. 2020. Comunicado de prensa número 103/20. https://www.inegi.org.mx/contenidos/saladeprensa/boletines/2020/OtrTemEcon/ENDUTIH_2019.pdf
Francisco Hidalgo
Francisco has a B.Sc. in Ecology from Javeriana University (Bogotá, Colombia 2006) and an M.Sc. in Sustainable Resource Management from the Technische Universität München (2015). Francisco worked for six years in certification processes in coffee production in Colombia before starting in 2019 his doctoral studies at the University of Hohenheim (Stuttgart).