Science: Why don’t we see more organic coffee farms?

Farming coffee organically is amazing because soils are more alive, birds and insects are more plentiful, farmers avoid getting sick with agrochemicals. But, if it’s so great, why is less than 10% of the world’s coffee grown organically? The fact is, going organic is hard. Much harder than growing coffee conventionally. In this episode I show you the story of one of Central America’s most successful organic coffee cooperatives, RAOS, and the four big hurdles that stood in the way of their early founders who all dreamed of converting their farms to organic. This story changed my understanding of farming and is now the reason I choose organic specialty coffee whenever I can. Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Dive deeper into organic coffee Learn more about Sustainable Harvest’s Most Valuable Producer programme, their cupping app Tastify, and explore their range of certified organic and Fairtrade coffees Explore RAOS (Cooperativa Regional Mixta de Agricultores Organicos de la Sierra)'s story for yourself Are you a coffee farmer? Get in touch with Lalo Perez Varaona Connect with my very knowledgeable guests Lalo Perez Varaona - LinkedIn Jorge Cuevas - LinkedIn Andrea Futterer - GEPA website Osman Contreras - LinkedIn Roberto Rene Gonzales - Farm website The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems ROEST Sustainable Harvest Mahlkönig The Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper's documentary podcast Filter Stories Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here. Use ProfilePrint to find the coffee your customers loved last year (without a week of cupping!). Use promo code "FILTER" to get 10% off your first year of a Mini Beluga subscription. Click here to discover ProfilePrint's many uses.  Support hundreds of thousands of coffee farmers with Fairtrade. Discover how here.  Office coffee = easy recurring revenue. WMF’s Elevation 10 and Peak 50 do the work for you. Learn more here.    What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.  Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here. Use ProfilePrint to find the coffee your customers loved last year (without a week of cupping!). Use promo code "FILTER" to get 10% off your first year of a Mini Beluga subscription. Click here to discover ProfilePrint's many uses.  Support hundreds of thousands of coffee farmers with Fairtrade. Discover how here.  Office coffee = easy recurring revenue. WMF’s Elevation 10 and Peak 50 do the work for you. Learn more here.    What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.