Rafael Díaz Porras

This paper examines the opportunities available to producers in small economies such as Costa Rica to enhance their competitiveness within global agri-food value chains. Drawing on an analysis of the internal dynamics of these chains, analysis is made of the structural and dynamic challenges these producers face, including market evolution, the increasing incorporation of services and the impact of automation. The discussion highlights the critical conditions and strategic considerations necessary to transmute market gaps into opportunities for agricultural producers to effectively appropriate value in increasingly complex and competitive global systems. Based on this discussion, policy proposals are put forward to address and understand the agri-food sector, emphasizing the imperative linkage between research and innovation processes required by the sector.

Coffee is the second most consumed beverage in the world, as well as one of the most valuable commodities, providing a livelihood for 25 million farmers in the tropics. The aim of this research was to analyze recent trends in coffee innovation. The documents for this review were extracted from the Scopus database in two separate searches. The first search registered 365 documents on coffee innovations between 1977 and April 2022, and the second flagged 138 documents on the life cycle analysis (LCA) of coffee, which was the primary innovation identified. Bibliometric methodologies in VOSviewer and the RStudio bibliometrix package were used for data processing. The results showed a growing number of articles on coffee innovations since 2010, with research focused on the areas of business, management, and accounting (14.1 %); environmental sciences (11.9 %); and agricultural and biological sciences (11.8 %). In terms of document production by country, the most prominent were the United States, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. The findings also revealed that the initial focus of coffee innovations was on issues related to dissemination, the human factor, and marketing. Since 2016, innovation trends have focused on sustainability evaluated through life cycle analysis originating mainly in producing countries as a response to climate change to ensure food security under a sustainable development approach.

Key concepts such as “carbon footprint”, “carbon neutral”, “carbon neutrality”, “low carbon”, and “net-zero emissions” have gained prominence in the context of climate change, a current issue that has become an urgent global challenge caused by anthropogenic activities, including agriculture. This bibliometric review analyzed the use of these concepts in mitigation strategies for the coffee sector, since coffee production significantly contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, primarily due to land use change, fertilizer use, and processing methods, and therefore, sustainable approaches within the whole coffee value chain need to be implemented. A total of 105 documents from the Scopus database, covering publications from January 1988 to June 2023, were analyzed. Co-word analysis and co-occurrence mapping techniques, together with traditional bibliometric laws and historical evolution analysis using VOSviewer and Bibliometrix, were applied. The evolution of research over time revealed that the first concept introduced for documenting the reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions was “low carbon emissions” in 1909, but it was not until 2008 that the first document was published establishing a link between “low carbon emissions” and “coffee”. In 2015, two more concepts, “carbon neutral” and “carbon neutrality”, documented since 1968 and 1995, respectively, were used in articles related to coffee. So far, the most relevant concept in quantifying GHG emissions in the context of coffee production activities has been “carbon footprint”. When it comes to new documents linking key concepts to coffee, between 2015 and 2018, there was an average of six documents per year. Since 2019, the average has remained at 15, highlighting the need to continue documenting climate change mitigation strategies in the coffee sector. Practical application of our findings for coffee sustainability programs must include the adoption of on-farm sustainable agricultural practices that span the entire value chain. In conclusion, this study underscores the importance of concepts such as “carbon footprint” and “carbon neutrality” as key pillars in the development of effective climate change mitigation strategies in the coffee sector and the significance of their integration into future research and global policies with practical applications, with far-reaching implications for sustainable agriculture in the near future.

This essay explores the potential for producers in small economies —specifically Costa Rica— to enhance their competitiveness within global agri-food value chains. Using an approach focused on the internal dynamics of these chains, it analyzes the structural and dynamic challenges these producers face, including market evolution, the increasing incorporation of services, and the impact of automation. The discussion highlights critical conditions and strategic considerations necessary for agricultural producers to effectively capture and retain value in increasingly complex and competitive global systems. Drawing from the discussion, this essay proposes policy frameworks aimed at addressing and comprehending the agri-food sector, emphasizing the imperative linkage between research and the innovation processes demanded by the sector.

This article analyzes the dynamics of the roasted coffee industry in Costa Rica, which has been an innovation in the recent coffee activity. This is evidenced by examining the objectives, strategies and organization of coffee roasting companies in Costa Rica. The article systematizes previous studies on the structure of the roasted coffee industry in Costa Rica, consumer behavior, and information that was extracted from regional analysis cases. The results point to the characterization of the companies, their supply chain, and the operation in the local spaces as contributions to local development. Finally, policy recommendations are made to the institutions and the roasting sector that account for the invigoration of this industry.

This paper aims to understand the dynamics of the roasted coffee industry in a coffee-producing region. The activity is studied by using the concept of local development since the coffee-growing dynamics of the Los Santos region in Costa Rica take place in a conglomerate space. However, the case presents features in which there is a crossover of both horizontal dimensions, coming from the local social mechanism, as well as vertical dimensions, typical of value chains. A three-trend process is observed: the productive trajectory of the coffee activity, linked to the socioeconomic trajectory and the local-organizational trajectory. In conclusion, the development of the roasted coffee industry in Los Santos cannot be understood without observing its context: local development with the capacity to respond to global changes; emergence of micro-mills; and the particular characteristics of a maturing conglomerate, stemming from the spontaneity of the process.

Esta investigación se realizó con la finalidad de analizar los procesos productivos que encierra la exportación de banano fresco en la zona Huetar Caribe, donde existen ejes conectivos entre el mejoramiento económico y social que establecen oportunidades para lograr un desarrollo sostenible en la industria. De esta forma, durante el periodo del 2000 al 2018, se llevó a cabo una estrategia de análisis basada en el enfoque de escalonamiento socioeconómico ampliamente utilizado en otras cadenas internacionales de valor como la textil y el turismo. El planteamiento tuvo un carácter cualitativo, donde se tomó datos numéricos como punto de partida para posteriormente profundizar por medio de la técnica de triangulación metodológica, que demandó la utilización de información primaria obtenida por medio de 45 entrevistas aplicadas en los principales poblados bananeros. Los resultados muestran que la industria creció de forma asimétrica, al obtener un mejor resultado económico para las empresas a causa de un incremento en la productividad, que no requirió de una mayor especialización en la fuerza laboral existente, aumento de la masa laboral, o la inclusión de nuevas plazas con mayor valor agregado, limitando en gran medida un mejoramiento social.

La crisis sanitaria provocada por COVID-19 ha generado una serie de retos para distintos sectores productivos a nivel mundial y Costa Rica no fue la excepción. Este estudio mide las percepciones acerca del impacto provocado por COVID-19 en el sector cafetalero, el cual ha tenido que adaptarse a las nuevas limitaciones planteadas por dicha crisis, sopesar las fluctuaciones en los mercados internacionales y los cambios en las políticas migratorias. El objetivo es indagar en las principales preocupaciones de las personas productoras de café ante la crisis. Para ello, se realizó una encuesta que evaluó el grado de preocupación de las personas caficultoras sobre temas relativos a la producción y al desarrollo del sector, concentrando su atención en las condiciones productivas y laborales actuales y futuras. La encuesta se llevó a cabo en la Zona de Los Santos, formada por los cantones de Dota, Tarrazú y León Cortés, entre septiembre y octubre de 2020, previo a la temporada de cosecha. Las 119 personas productoras fueron seleccionados mediante la técnica de “bola de nieve”. Dicha encuesta estuvo compuesta por preguntas cerradas en una escala de Likert de cinco opciones y 34 preguntas, cuyas respuestas daban acuerdo o desacuerdo con las afirmaciones planteadas. Mediante el análisis de factores, los resultados indican que, entre las principales preocupaciones de las personas caficultoras, se encuentran el temor al aumento en los costos de producción debido a las regulaciones sanitarias, el comportamiento de los mercados del café y el posible faltante de mano de obra necesaria para la cosecha debido a las restricciones migratorias.

Este artículo evalúa el desempeño exportador de cinco agrocadenas de los países centroamericanos durante el periodo 2000-2016. La evaluación se realiza con la metodología de márgenes de exportación, adaptada al contexto de cadenas de valor en Centroamérica, la cual fija su atención en los vínculos comerciales, tanto en su ampliación como en su profundización. La metodología utilizada es una adaptación de Besedes y Prusa (2012). Los casos analizados son dos cadenas tradicionales de exportación (café y azúcar), dos de orientación tradicional al mercado interno (lácteos y ganadería de carne), así como una cadena con orientación hacia los mercados internacionales (piña). Adicionalmente, se diseñaron tres escenarios que procuran dar luces acerca de en cuáles agrocadenas destacan los países de la región, en qué posición de la cadena surgen las exportaciones con mejor desempeño y qué importancia tiene el comercio intrarregional respecto a las exportaciones con el resto del mundo. Los resultados muestran que en las agrocadenas analizadas, las exportaciones de sus productos primarios fueron las que mejor desempeño tuvieron a lo largo de la cadena. Productos como el azúcar crudo, el café verde y la piña fueron grandes fuentes en la creación de valor y su éxito en los mercados internacionales, lo cual se debió en gran medida a su capacidad para mantenerse en estos. Por otro lado, los productos procesados no se han expandido en tantos mercados como los productos primarios y, por tanto, año con año la entrada a nuevosdestinos pesó más en estos productos.