Resumen

BENITEZ-GARCIA, Erika; JARAMILLO-VILLANUEVA, José L.; ESCOBEDO-GARRIDO, Sergio  y  MORA-FLORES, Saturnino. Characterization of coffee production and trade in the municipality of Cuetzalan, Puebla. agric. soc. desarro [online]. 2015, vol.12, n.2, pp.181-198. ISSN 1870-5472.

Coffee production in Cuetzalan del Progreso, Puebla, is the most important productive activity there. The objective of this study was to understand the characteristics of coffee production and trade in this municipality, to generate proposals for intervention that could improve the trade net margin for the producer. The analysis was performed with a sample of 101 producers, with 95 % reliability and 10 % precision. The data were obtained through a structured interview. Of the producers, 72.81 % were employed in non-agricultural or livestock activities, 33 % as day laborers and 18.4 % as traders. Organic coffee is produced by 76.2 %; the Arabica variety is grown by 72.8 % of the producers. The surface cultivated is 1.57 ha in average, with an average yield of 2.06 ton ha^-1. The average technological level was 0.46, on a scale of zero to one. A direct relationship was observed between the technological level, the farm’s income and the unitary yield. Of the producers, 59.4 % sell their coffee to a cooperative and 40.6 % to intermediaries. The conclusions point out the need for a differentiated intervention, taking the strata identified as a basis.

Palabras llave : coffee cultivation; coffee trade; technological innovation; production units.