Devouring profit - International Coffee Organization

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The previous chapter dealt with the losses due to CBB damage. We now draw on
studies to look further at the implications of the pest in different countries. Data on
coffee farmers in each country can be found in Appendix A; data on coffee in these
countries in Appendix B.
5.1 Economics of
CBB in India
5.1.1 Losses due to CBB
Figure 6 simulates income reduction in Rupees per hectare due to different levels of
CBB damage. As can be seen, reductions will depend on the expected yield. E.g. for
a yield of 1,200 kg of green coffee/ha losses will be approximately Rs 7,000 for 20%
damage, equivalent to US$155, which is a serious loss.
Income/ha (Rupees)
35000
33000
31000
29000
27000
1,200 kg/ha
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
% of CBB
900 kg/ha
Figure 6. Income reduction per hectare due to CBB damage rates.
5.1.2 Cost of controlling CBB
Although it is always difficult to establish a standard cost of CBB management, in the
survey with extensionists at Kalpetta we tried to estimate it. They reckoned the average
cost per hectare at about Rs 2,800 but with a skewed distribution (Figure 7).
So if we assume that the CBB management cost is about Rs 2,500 with potential
losses of around Rs 7,000 if damage rises to 20%, it is quite profitable to carry out the
pest control. In a subsequent study carried out by the Coffee Board (Setti et al., 2001)
and analysed by Duque (2002), the real costs of CBB management tend to be lower
than those calculated by the extensionists (Figure 8). It is likely that the declining
coffee prices between the two studies had caused farmers to reduce costs further and
that this to some extent explains the discrepancy.