Blockchain Blue Mountain Coffee!
If you’ve never been to Jamaica’s Blue Mountain region put it on your list of places to see. Not only is it home to a national park inscribed on the UN World Heritage List for its cultural significance and biodiversity; but the views are as breathtaking as the nights are chilly. And then there’s the coffee.
Coffee is the second most sought after commodity in the world, second only to crude oil. For true connoisseurs, Jamaica’s Blue Mountain bean, like its ganja and music, is particularly regarded and sought-after worldwide. It is billed as the “Rolls-Royce of Coffee”, but in the last 5 years, many Jamaican traditional coffee farmers have been faced with the incredulous choice of abandoning their farms or converting to pineapple cultivation in the face of falling returns on their coffee crops.
How can the prices to farmers be falling when demand continues to rise worldwide?
The answer is layered. Jamaican farmers grow great coffee, but Jamaicans drink tea! As such, most of Jamaica’s relatively limited Blue Mountain coffee product is exported to Japan, North America and Europe. In order to protect the international reputation, Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is a globally protected certification mark, meaning only coffee certified by the Jamaica Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA) can be marketed as such. A farmer must be able to export a large quantity of coffee berries before being granted an export licence by JACRA. Most traditional farmers cannot produce this much on their small farms and so sell their coffee berries to processors a.k.a. middle men. So, a veritable handful of processors control the export of their coffee, and that acquired from the small farmers, into the international market to end purchasers who then roast. Processors set the price.
A cynic would say that Jamaica’s coffee commerce has been virtually monopolised with a few “big guys” mis-managing the market and reaping the rewards, while the “likkle man” is forced to work for a pittance plantation-style. A more nuanced response would point to the never-ending dichotomy between protection (of heritage, quality, brand) and promotion of commercial interests that intellectual property protections must always consider carefully, as the source of the problem...and the possible solution.
You see, problems provide guidelines and often solutions present themselves once, with time (read: technology), we outgrow the problem.
The Certification Mark and export limit controls were implemented to prevent inferior beans being sold and marketed as the Jamaican. In times past, it would have been virtually impossible to be able to track the results of individual Jamaican coffee farmers from berry to processed bean export. As such, the most practical way of ensuring that Jamaican coffee's reputation for quality was preserved, was to restrict access to persons able to consolidate quantities and process economically. But things and times have changed and by blockchaining Blue Mountain Coffee we are able to simply and transparently track produce and properly pay those that make the real sacrifice for this premium product: the farmers.
Blockchain technology is now fairly commonplace in a myriad of industries worldwide. It’s capacity to increase access, accountability and transparency would allow farmers to receive greater economic and social rewards for their efforts. This would be a real restoration of power to the people! Imagine a Jamaican coffee industry where small farmers are able to track their contributions to an aggregated brand and get paid accordingly via a mobile app. Consolidated processing will aid greater compliance with the Certification Mark (and only one export licence fee). The precedent set by entities like the UK based Provenance.org, facilitates consumers connecting directly to the farmers and learning the story behind the coffee in their cup.
This crisis of the past year has made the need for a solution with the coffee situation even more critical. International restrictions have affected the ability to export this premium product and there is now a glut in Jamaica. The Jamaica Coffee Exporters Association is now trying to increase coffee consumption in Jamaica, not a bad idea. But I’m betting on the Jamaican Women in Coffee’s aim to blockchain the Blue Mountain to truly correct and take our coffee to Higher Ground!
JaWIC Board Member- Joan Webley