Help eliminate poverty among 3,500 coffee producers in Guatemala

SID has been asked by two associations of coffee producers for help in achieving higher, sustainable incomes.  SID has assessed the associations, and it is extremely feasible for:

With your support, SID will work with two associations whose farmers do not husk (remove the hard shell from) their coffee and currently miss out on an important value-added.  By husking and drying their coffee, farmers can increase the value of their sales by 55%.  They can achieve an additional 10% value-added if they sell coffee directly to a major buyer.  Most coffee farmers get 5 to 7 quintals per cuerda, but they can get 10 to 12 quintals by adopting better growing practices.  Members of the two associations can easily increase their productivity by 25% if they dig shallow ditches around each coffee tree and apply fertilizer at the root ends and improve the pruning and shade cover of their coffee trees.

Coffee is the major comparative advantage for most farmers in Guatemala’s Western Highlands.  It is the highest income earner for farmers, and it is the one crop that Ladino (Spanish-descended) farmers cannot produce on their large commercial farms in Guatemala’s southeastern plains.

Nearly 4 million of Guatemala’s 13 million people live in the Western Highlands.  The majority are Mayan farmers, who have small 0.5 to 2 hectare plots of hillside land that is highly susceptible to erosion.  Their productivity is low, and they have been slow to forge more lucrative relations with buyers and markets.  The average family has 7 members and an annual income of $350 to $1,250.

It costs SID less than $100 per farm family per year to help them achieve significant increases in income.  Please help Guatemalan hillside farmers get the services they need to significantly increase their incomes.  We would be grateful for any contribution.

How do Poor Farmers Increase Their Incomes in Guatemala?

View the Guatemalan PowerPoint

To contribute, please click the link below:

For more information, contact us at sid@sidworld.org or (703) 875-0500.

On behalf of coffee farmers and our staff in Guatemala, thank you for your support!