Sourcing, my team’s topic throughout the trip, is very important for farms to consider. I learned about how raw materials, labor, technology, and water are all essential factors in the tropical agricultural sector. When considering all that I have found goes into growing coffee, cacao, strawberries, bananas, and pineapple, my relationship with these foods has certainly changed. Knowing about the sustainable practices that many of these plantations use and all of the manual labor from immigrants that is necessary to produce quality crops allows me to truly appreciate the first step in the tropical agriculture production process. Labor is often sourced from Nicaragua because most Ticos are not willing to perform manual labor. Raw materials are often sourced from the land itself and reused, while technology needed comes from suppliers. Water comes from reservoirs or collected rainfall.

Sourcing also applies to processing mills and exporters, who must also find labor and raw materials. For coffee processors, they get their coffee cherries typically from nearby farms. The coffee is then ground and dried to produce a powder that can be sold. Processors also use Nicaraguan labor. The minimum wage is much higher in Costa Rica than Nicaragua, so immigrants are not taking Tico jobs. The labor sourcing situation benefits both parties. I now have a better understanding of how a red coffee cherry becomes a black powder that we make our caffeinated drinks with.

After processing and exporting, coffee travels to roasters and retailers. These places also source labor and supplies. Energy is required for the roasting process, while materials are needed for packaging. Retailers must also source shipping to get coffee to their stores. The packaging is very important from a marketing perspective, as Cafe Britt really emphasized how design of the product can maximize sales in airports and shops.

Customers source the product from shops all across the world. We went to plantations where coffee and chocolate were able to be shipped from the shop to houses in the US. This gives customers sourcing options so they do not always have to purchase on-site. Once again, packaging is very important to customers when they are picking a quality product. Some designs emphasize quality, while others highlight the sustainability of their business. Overall, the trip was extremely eye-opening, as I learned so much about tropical agriculture and factors in the process that I did not even consider.