Adoption of Technology Upgrading by Rural Smallholders in the Nepalese Coffee Sector

Abstract

The ecological settings in the Himalayan hills provide a unique opportunity to the resource-poor farmers in Nepal to sell their organically produced coffee as specialty coffee in the global market. However, there is little research about the cultivation methods and adoption of profitable technological upgrading in coffee cultivation in the country. Against such a back drop, this paper seeks to explore the factors that influence the small-scale coffee farmers’ decision to adopt technological upgrading such as wet processing in the farming process. Semi-structured interviews as well as focus group discussions were conducted in selected coffee-growing rural regions of Nepal. The cost-benefit analysis of different modes of coffee processing shows that the adoption of wet processing has a large potential of increasing the profit margins of farmers. Results from an adoption model identify education, book keeping on coffee activities, training, and access to credit and household location as the key determining factors for the adoption of technology upgrading.