Coffee "Elite" combines university education and focus on sustainability

Higher education, interest in the production of specialty coffee and search for certification. The three characteristics have defined the profile of coffee growers in Brazil, according to a survey carried out by Sebrae.

Small businesses represent more than half of national coffee farming and account for 54%, but the sector's growth is accompanied by greater education, advances in certifications and a focus on specialty coffees - signs of a more entrepreneurial and less traditional coffee industry.

The majority of producers are outside the Southeast region, where Brazil's two production centers are concentrated, with Minas Gerais leading the cultivation of Arabica coffee and, in second place in the national ranking, São Paulo. In both states, medium-sized properties are concentrated.

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The study, carried out based on the National Segmentation Survey of Coffee Producers, points out that these producers are concentrated on properties with less than 20 hectares. Medium-sized producers make up 38% of the total and 8% are large.

At the same time, the 54% of small coffee businesses represent an "elite" when it comes to education and focus on regenerative agriculture. The average age among them varies from 21 years to 49 years of experience in the area.

According to the entity's data, 61% of those interviewed grow specialty coffee. Of the total, 27% have some certification and 29% are already looking for a seal.

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In relation to gender, women still represent a minority portion of Brazilian coffee farming, with 21% of producers interviewed in the Sebrae survey, compared to 79% of men.

Despite the difference, female advancement in the sector accompanies a broader transformation of the activity, marked by greater professionalization, the search for certifications and growth in the specialty coffee market, highlighted Sebrae.

Sebrae data also shows a growing challenge of generational renewal in coffee farming. Only 3% of the producers interviewed belong to Generation Z, aged between 18 and 24 years old, while 41% are in Generation X, between 41 and 56 years old, and another 29% are baby boomers, over 57 years old.

Seven out of ten Brazilian coffee farmers are over 40 years old. The scenario reinforces the debate about family succession in the countryside at a time when the activity increasingly requires management, technical knowledge and adaptation to the sustainability and quality demands of the international market.

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Goiás + DF has the most educated producer in the country
Although the Southeast remains the main hub for Brazilian coffee growing, Sebrae data shows that some regions outside the traditional axis concentrate a more educated producer profile and more based on small businesses.

In Goiás and the Federal District, for example, 76% of coffee growers are small producers, but the level of training draws attention: 47% have higher education and 29% have postgraduate degrees.

In practice, this means that almost three in every ten producers in the region have academic specialization, a proportion well above the average observed in Brazilian agribusiness.

The data reinforces a change in the profile of the activity, with smaller properties focusing on management, technology and added value to compete in the specialty coffee market.

Small producers dominate precisely outside the traditional axis
The map also indicates a geographic change in Brazilian coffee farming, with a greater presence of small businesses in the Amazon, a movement that has been strengthening in the last five years. Rondônia leads this movement, with 87% of producers classified as small businesses, followed by Acre (83%).

The advance of Amazon Robusta coffee and specialty coffees produced in emerging areas helps explain this movement.

According to Sebrae, the distribution suggests that the expansion of activity into new agricultural frontiers occurs in a more dispersed manner, based on smaller properties and, often, linked to family farming.

Source: CNN