Second, household welfare and livelihood effects of coffee
certification remain generally rather disappointing. Utzcertified farmers receive initially substantially higher prices for cherry and particularly for dry coffee deliveries, but these
price differences disappear over time as all certified coffees
increase in prices. Certified farms were able to improve their
situation mainly through better prices for processed (dry)
coffee, with declining differences between Utz and FT certification but increasing margins compared to non-certified farmhouseholds. However, non-certified producers were also able
to adjust their coffee farming practices over time and generated in addition a sizeable income from other farm- and
non-farm activities. The effect of certification on household income thus remains fairly limited, since on average no more
than one-third to a quarter of farm revenues are derived from
coffee sales and the realized coffee sales under certified conditions only represents up to ⅓of the total produced volume.
The expected net income effect from certification thus refer
to less than 10% of household income.
11