De-Commodifying Coffee ¿Feasible or Utopia?

Coffee is one of the most significant and widely traded agricultural commodities globally, providing livelihoods for millions of small-scale farmers. However, much of this coffee is traded as a commodity, where uniformity and price competition dominate, limiting the profitability for producers. In response to this, global trends are promoting the production of differentiated coffees, such as specialty or certified varieties, as a decommodification mechanism that offers higher benefits to farmers. This study, based on ethnographic and multi-sited research conducted in the Dominican Republic, includes 42 individual interviews and 4 focus groups with key stakeholders such as producers, cooperatives, NGOs, and market intermediaries. It addresses two main questions: (RQ1) Is it feasible for small-scale producers to produce differentiated coffee? And, if not, (RQ2) What strategies and business models can these producers adopt to achieve sustainable production while overcoming social and environmental limitations? The research provides a comprehensive analysis of coffee production in the Dominican Republic, bridging theoretical frameworks, such as stakeholder theory, power imbalances in global supply chains, agency theory, and stakeholder empowerment, with the practical realities of the coffee market. It highlights the challenges faced by small-scale producers, identifying them as low-powered stakeholders in the value chain while emphasizing their crucial role and capacity for independent decision-making. The study underscores the importance of engaging producers in higher value-added activities to enhance their influence over market conditions and pricing, ultimately promoting a more sustainable and equitable value chain. While decommodification and differentiated coffee production are promising paths, they remain inaccessible to many small producers due to limited resources and capabilities. To address these challenges, the study proposes a collective labor model based on cooperativism, where producers collaborate on agricultural tasks to reduce costs and improve productivity. This model aims to strengthen their livelihoods and provide them with the opportunity to gradually access higher value-added markets. Although focused on the Dominican Republic, the strategies proposed could be applicable in other coffee-producing regions and even extend beyond coffee to other agricultural sectors. Key words: Decommodification, Stakeholder Theory, Global Supply Chain, Power Imbalances, Stakeholder Empowerment, Cooperativism.