Skip to content

Organic Coffee by Default

What does it mean for coffee to be “organic by default?”

Simply put, coffee is considered organic by default if the producers fulfill the requirements for organic farming even though they have not received an official organic certification.

Remarkably, a significant portion of the planet’s coffee is grown organically. Most of the world’s coffee growers are small-scale, independent farmers who produce fewer than five 60Kg coffee bags per person. Many such farmers reside in areas where commercial fertilizer is limited or confined to strategic crops that have higher nutritional value.

We estimate that more than 90% of coffee in Uganda qualifies as organic by default. However, most of this coffee was grown organic by default as a result of poverty, isolation, and lack of resources. For many of the same reasons, this coffee is often uncertifiable. The Uganda Coffee Development Authority describes this as “organic by necessity.”

Organic by Necessity: Challenges of Organic Certifications

In Uganda, smallholder coffee producers almost unanimously lack the financial and social resources to achieve organic certifications.

The Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) describes the following challenges of organic certifications for coffee farmers:

  • Many small farms “are organic by necessity” because they can’t afford synthetic fertilizers or other inorganic inputs. However, they can’t afford certification and hence can’t benefit from the price premium their organic crops should demand.
  • Smallholder farmers must form a cooperative with a minimum of 15 members. This is a hurdle for farmers who are isolated or who live in areas where governance structures and skills are lacking, making it difficult for them to organize into cooperatives.
  • Re-certification is necessary every year. This is an additional, recurring expense.
  • Depending on what practices, techniques, documentation, or chemicals were previously used on the property, the transition to sustainable methods might take up to three years. This makes it difficult for farmers to make the shift economically since the majority of the costs occur during the transition period, but the produce must still be sold at conventional (non-organic spot) rates.