The impact of Utz certification on smallholder farmers in Uganda

Abstract

Sustainability standards like Fair Trade (FT) or Utz certified are widely regarded as a promising way of improving smallholder coffee farmer welfare. As yet, the impact of certification remains poorly understood. The current chapter presents the findings of the study regarding the impact of Utz certification in Uganda.15 The study is based on two waves of data collection carried out in 2009 and 2012 with farmers belonging to two cooperative organisations that received support from the Dutch Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) Solidaridad: Kulika (located in Kamuli district) and Ankole Coffee Processors Ltd. (located in Ibanda district). This study aims to provide a broad comparison between farmers and their organisations selling Utz certified or conventional coffee. In line with this objective, the guiding research question is: What is the impact of Utz involvement at producer and producer organisation level?