Brewing a Better Future: A Multi-Level Perspective on the Co-Production of the Specialty Coffee Imaginary among Coffee Producers in Northern Thailand
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Abstract
In recent years, an increasing number of coffee farmers in the Northern highlands are starting to produce specialty coffee. The objective of the research is to add to the understanding of specialty coffee’s impact on the global coffee value chain in general, and on Thai coffee farmers in particular. Building on qualitative empirical research, Northern Thai coffee farmers’ responses to this emerging specialty coffee segment are analyzed using the multi-level perspective (MLP) as an analytical framework through the lens of sociotechnical imaginaries. It is found that they are motivated by improved income, but also see specialty coffee as a source of pride, and a way to sustainability, as well as meeting a changing lifestyle trend. To do so, they are using new knowledge to change their way of production, innovating farm management and processing, and using new forms of marketing and organization. They are facing several challenges: a lack of knowledge about specialty coffee, a volatile market with powerful competitors, a regulatory framework perceived as not supporting specialty coffee development, and lack of sustainability. By adopting international knowledge and standards of specialty coffee, but adding local cultural context, practices, and value to their products, they are co-producing a specialty coffee imaginary of socio-economic progress and cultural recognition that is driving this sociotechnical transition. Risks need to be mitigated to continue the trajectory. In addition to the empirical contributions, this study also adds to the theoretical understanding of sociotechnical transitions by linking MLP with sociotechnical imaginaries, highlighting the role of agency.
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- เนื้อหาและข้อมูลที่ลงตีพิมพ์ในวารสารรัฐศาสตร์และรัฐประศาสนศาสตร์ถือเป็นข้อคิดเห็นและความรับผิดชอบของผู้เขียนบทความโดยตรง ซึ่งกองบรรณาธิการวารสารรัฐศาสตร์และรัฐประศาสนศาสตร์ ไม่จำเป็นต้องเห็นด้วย หรือร่วมรับผิดชอบใดๆ
- บทความและข้อมูล ที่ได้รับการตีพิมพ์ในวารสารรัฐศาสตร์และรัฐประศาสนศาสตร์ ถือเป็นลิขสิทธิ์ของวารสาร หากบุคคลหรือหน่วยงานใดต้องการนำข้อมูลไปใช้ประโยชน์ในทางวิชาการ ขอให้อ้างอิงแหล่งที่มาด้วย
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