Thesis, Undergraduate (BS Agribusiness Economics) -- University of the Philippines, Mindanao

Coffee has growing opportunities both local and global. Local farmers remain lagged in meeting quality requirements and suffer from the highly volatile market prices. Consequently, many coffee farm lands were converted to commercial and residential use and many farmers shift to high value crops. The dcreasing trend of the local production can barely meet the increasing demand. In response to the challenges and coffee crisis led to the advent of Fair Trade Movement. The study intends to analyze the profitability and fair trade practice of coffee grower in Tupi and Polomolok South Cotabato. Personal interviews were conducted from 44 coffee growers. In assessing the profitability the farmer's decision to participate in Fair Trade, statistical techniques and econometric approach were used. Profitability used independent sample test to determine the significant factors to profitability. Also, logistic regression model and probit model were employed to identify factors that affect farmer's decision to participate in Fair Trade. Based on the results, the marketing cost per hectare and cultivating a mixture of the variety Robusta and Arabica were significantly different too those who are not engaged in Fair Trade. Furthermore, age and household size significantly affect farmer's decision to engage in fair Trade. It was also found out that there is no significant difference between Fair Trade growers and non Fair Trade growers in terms of profitability since both types of growers remain inefficient in production. It is concluded to revive coffee industry by helping farmers to work interdependently on the supply chain to increase yield and improve quality. The study recommended to research on the optimal combination of growing two varieties Robusta and Arabica to maximize profitability. Also, it is recommended to have a programs that would focus on efficiency and management skills of coffee farmers.