What is the impact of product certification on small-scale farmers’ livelihoods? To what extent does the participation of Ethiopian small-scale
coffee farmers in certified local cooperative structures improve their socioeconomic situation? To answer these questions, this article employs
household data of 249 coffee farmers from six different cooperatives collected in the Jimma zone of Southwestern Ethiopia in 2009. Findings show
that the certification of coffee cooperatives has in total a low impact on small-scale coffee producers’ livelihoods mainly due to (1) low productivity,
(2) insignificant price premium, and (3) poor access to credit and information from the cooperative. Differences in production and organizational
capacities between the local cooperatives are mirrored in the extent of the certification benefits for the smallholders. “Good” cooperatives have
reaped the benefits of certification, whereas “bad” ones did not fare well. In this regard the “cooperative effect” overlies the “certification effect.”