Indian Coffee in Switzerland by improved quality, labeling and positioning for the socio economic betterment of coffe
At a glance
- Project leader : Prof. Dr. Chahan Yeretzian
- Co-project leader : Prof. Dr. Cheppudira Kushalappa
- Deputy of project leader : Thomas Bratschi
- Project team : Nanaya Konerira, Sabine Stauffacher
- Project budget : CHF 56'720
- Project status : completed
- Funding partner : SNSF (Indo-Swiss Joint Research Programme (ISJRP))
- Project partner : University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences IAHS Shimoga
- Contact person : Sabine Stauffacher
Description
Coorg district in Southern India in the Western Ghats is known
for its exceptional biodiversity and unique agroforestry farming
systems maintained by smallholder coffee farmers. Due to the rapid
transformation of the market and the increase in production costs,
the environmental friendly farming practices are at stake: Farmers
thrive to intensify farming with opening up canopy of shade trees,
replacing high valuable native shade trees with exotic varieties or
increasing input fertilizer. Consequently, it is manifesting in
negative impacts on the environment. Sustainable certification
schemes aim to overcome these challenges. Thus, positive effects
are rather limited and more powerful solutions are necessary.
This Indo-Swiss faculty exchange program, aimed at better
understanding unique attributes and quality of Indian coffee and
the Indian coffee value chain. The research was an applied approach
with investigating opportunities for linking Indian smallholder
Robusta farmers to Swiss small-roasters in a direct trade
relationship with the aim of achieving enhanced sustainability in
the coffee value chain.