Negotiating Politics and Power: Perspectives on Environmental Justice from Jamaica’s Specialty Coffee Industry

The research examines how colonial legacies and neoliberal restructuring have created a 'disabling environment' for Jamaican coffee smallholders, characterized by low farm gate prices and limited support. It argues that climate change exacerbates these structural injustices, as industry leaders prioritize profit and privilege over the adaptation needs of farmers, leading to asymmetrical power structures that stifle smallholder agency.

• Smallholders in Jamaica's specialty coffee industry operate within a disabling environment shaped by neoliberal restructuring, which manifests as limited access to support services, expensive farm inputs, low-value chain participation, and low farm gate prices.
• Climate change impacts have intensified disparities in justice claims between farmers and industry stakeholders regarding the implementation of adaptation responses.
• Asymmetrical power structures within the industry legitimise the voices of industry leaders over smallholders, allowing profits to be extracted and privileges reinforced while nurturing vulnerabilities for those whose livelihoods are embedded in the landscape.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2025). Negotiating Politics and Power: Perspectives on Environmental Justice from Jamaica’s Specialty Coffee Industry. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/negotiating-politics-and-power-perspectives-on-environmental-justice-from-jamaicas-specialty-coffee-industry/

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Negotiating Politics and Power: Perspectives on Environmental Justice from Jamaica’s Specialty Coffee Industry. 2025. https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/negotiating-politics-and-power-perspectives-on-environmental-justice-from-jamaicas-specialty-coffee-industry/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Negotiating Politics and Power: Perspectives on Environmental Justice from Jamaica’s Specialty Coffee Industry |date=6 January 2025 |url=https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/negotiating-politics-and-power-perspectives-on-environmental-justice-from-jamaicas-specialty-coffee-industry/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2025negotiating, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Negotiating Politics and Power: Perspectives on Environmental Justice from Jamaica’s Specialty Coffee Industry}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://iai.int/es/pub_acad/negotiating-politics-and-power-perspectives-on-environmental-justice-from-jamaicas-specialty-coffee-industry/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }