Organic coffee certification in Peru as an alternative development-oriented drug control policy
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to evaluate the effect of organic coffee certification on coca cultivation, based on a survey of 496 members from coffee cooperatives located in the upper Tambopata valley in Peru. Coca is a bush from the leaves of which cocaine is extracted.
Design/methodology/approach
The results were estimated using the propensity score matching methodology.
Findings
The results suggest that participation in organic coffee certification statistically significantly reduces the scale of coca cultivation.
Originality/value
This paper analyses a unique primary data set from a coca-growing region in Peru. The value of this paper is that the results suggest that under specific conditions, such as reasonable high and stable coffee prices, organic coffee certification can be an effective element of drug control policy in Latin America.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The research was funded by BMZ (the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany) through the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service), and by Latin American and Caribbean Environmental Economics Program (LACEEP).
Citation
Garcia-Yi, J. (2014), "Organic coffee certification in Peru as an alternative development-oriented drug control policy", International Journal of Development Issues, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 72-92. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDI-11-2013-0077
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited