Vietnam – Agri-Logic

Carbon Footprint Reporting on coffee farms in Vietnam for USAID, IDH and JDE

Agri-Logic is presently carrying out Carbon Footprint Reporting on behalf of USAID, IDH and JDE based on the data of ~14,000 coffee farmers in Vietnam. The carbon footprint of farmers will be calculated based on estimation of each farmer’s carbon emissions and carbon stocks on the coffee farms. Farmers’ carbon footprint will be compared to explanatory variables and farm profitability. Furthermore, the effect of project interventions by a range of organisations on the carbon footprint will be evaluated.

Final recommendations will tie the conclusions into a set of suggestions on how to move forward at the level of the supply chain management companies on how to work practically with farmers in their supply chain on reducing emissions while maintaining or enhancing yields and profitability. At programme level recommendations for scaling up of the involved initiatives will be formulated.

Sourcing glyphosate-free coffee in Vietnam

Can coffee be sourced in a way that avoids buying coffee with traces of glyphosate? In Vietnam, glyphosate is gradually being phased out now that the Vietnamese government has prohibited new imports and production of the herbicide in spring 2019. However, stocks of glyphosate already present in the country can still be sold and used.

Requested by a European coffee roaster, Agri-Logic investigated the possibility of sourcing coffee in Vietnam with low(-er) glyphosate contamination. To answer this question a two-pronged approach was used consisting of on-farm field trials as well as supply chain mapping. The former intended to establish the correlation between glyphosate use and residue-levels under controlled glyphosate application conditions while the latter was used to establish the contamination levels in coffee of small village-based coffee collectors and to identify geographical areas that are safer for sourcing.

Impact investment scoping study Southeast Asia

For a leading European impact investor Agri-Logic scoped out market opportunities in selected commodity value chains in South East Asia. Based in part on our advice, the client is currently upscaling its financial product offerings to medium and large-sized companies in the region.

Farmer Field Book for ISLA Vietnam

IDH’s landscapes programme, ISLA, works together with government, business and civil society to improve livelihoods and contribute to economic development while minimizing environmental harm. One of the focus regions is the Central Highlands region in Vietnam. To gain a better understanding of the effects of its interventions on farmers, industry and landscapes, rigorously collected data at farm level is required.

IDH and the implementing partners in Vietnam use the Farmer Field Book (FFB) methodology to allow rigorous monitoring & evaluation for the ISLA programme. Agri-Logic has developed special software functionalities for this programme and supported the training of field staff. We also perform a large part of the data analysis and reporting of results.

The FFB approach for ISLA includes reports at four levels: the individual farmer level, the farmer group level, the company level and the ISLA programme level. The first set of reports was delivered in July 2017, covering the crop year 2016-2017. The programme level reports can be downloaded below. The reports cover topics such as farm economics of different production systems, toxic loading, carbon footprint, farm economic and agronomic performance and assessment of production practices’ influence on productivity and profitability.

ISLA Vietnam Farmer Field Book analysis 2016-17 (IDH & partners)

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ISLA Vietnam Farmer Field Book analysis 2016-19 (IDH & partners)

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Supplier Assessment in Vietnam and China for JDE

Agri-Logic conducted a targeted supplier assessment for JDE’s Supplier initiative. Prior to this, JDE had assessed sustainability issues in its supply chain by two different methods which produced diverging results. Agri-Logic’s targeted assessment investigated the misalignment between the self-assessment forms filled out by selected suppliers and the results of the origin issue assessment conducted by a third party.

Both methods for assessing sustainability issues were reviewed in-depth and discussed with selected suppliers and JDE, respectively. Subsequently, a detailed analysis of available farmer data as well as a review of scientific and grey literature and further discussions with stakeholders were carried out. The resulting reports outlined the list of possible sustainability issues and a detailed reasoning as to why these are included or not. Furthermore, based on a reconciled view of what sustainability issues are present and which are most pressing, recommendations on possible remedial measures were presented and are currently being implemented in both countries.

Impact assessment UTZ coffee Vietnam

JDE Coffee is one of the largest buyers of UTZ Certified coffee world wide. Together with the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs the company co-funded a study to investigate the effects of training and UTZ certification on coffee farmers in Vietnam. Given their substantial commitment to the UTZ Certified programme as well as its significant investment in the DE Foundation, it wanted to know whether buying of certified coffee, as well as the activities of the DE Foundation have an impact on farmers.

In collaboration with Wageningen University and Research, Agri-Logic designed a scientifically rigorous study using propensity score matching to create comparable groups of programme and non-programme farmers. By relying on a so-called difference in difference approach we were able to demonstrate causality of effects of training frequency, training and trainer quality as well as UTZ certification.

The main findings of this study with robusta coffee farmers and UTZ certification in Vietnam are that:

Certification in this study primarily leads to access to training, uptake of management tools such as record keeping and investment planning, but not to significant improvements in farming efficiencies nor to better farm economic outcomes. Also, among the Vietnamese farmers in this research, UTZ certification by itself does not sufficiently tackle the main challenges such as over-irrigation and excessive fertilizer applications that the coffee sector is facing; and
Improved farm management is primarily and positively affected by the amount and to a lesser extent by the quality of training that farmers have received.

The Sustainable Coffee Conundrum (DE Foundation)

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Coffee sustainability support for Olam

Agri-Logic supports the Olam global coffee business with designing and implementing projects to strengthen the farmer supply base that delivers to the company. We assist the Olam coffee business and the Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability function of the company in developing small- and large scale interventions with their clients, donors, banks and governments. At their core these projects are designed to help unlock growth potential of small-scale coffee farmers, such that both farmers and the Olam businesses benefit. Such benefits can be found in greater supply, improved coffee quality, premium payments, more efficient supply chains as a result of group selling by farmers and extending credit to farmers. This project has been operational since July 2014.

Impact of Common Code for the Coffee Community

In 2009 we were contracted by the 4C Association to conduct an impact assessment of the the implementation of its code of conduct in Vietnam, Uganda and Nicaragua. In 2014, 4C asked to revisit the same farmers in Uganda and Vietnam and conduct a similar study to identify and quantify long-term effects of its programme.

We designed an impact study for this that uses a difference-in-difference approach and relies on Propensity Score Matching to create realistic counter-factual scenarios. This allows us to answer the question: what would have happened to a farmer if s/he had decided not to join the 4C programme? Two experts from Wageningen University and Research provided extensive feedback on the research design and interpretation of results.

Farmers that are part of a 4C verified supply chain have more access to training. For farmers in Uganda, we confirm that 4C verified farmers are more efficient financially. Productivity has not changed significantly, but efficiency of production as measured by the production cost per Mt green coffee, has. In Vietnam, an origin where productivity is extremely high, we did not observe additional increases in productivity as a result of being 4C verified. Of the changes in economic and agronomic performance that are observed, none correlates with application of GAP training.

On the social dimension we again see notable effects in Uganda, but less so in Vietnam. A clear link between being 4C verified and an increase in dietary quality was confirmed for Uganda. In Vietnam we only see differences in wages paid to workers, which show a stronger and significant increase over time among 4C verified farmers.

Environmental performance is hardly affected by 4C. Only in Uganda did 4C verified farmers take significantly less new land into production for coffee. Other environmental aspects were not impacted in either country.