CATIE Graduate’s Research Proposes Improving Labor Management in Costa Rica’s Coffee Sector

• The research conducted by Beatriz Elizondo Mora as part of her studies at CATIE’s Graduate School proposes a comprehensive strategy to improve the traceability, planning, and availability of coffee pickers in Costa Rica.

How can the coffee sector ensure that it has the workforce needed to harvest its crop? This question led Beatriz Elizondo Mora, a Costa Rican professional and upcoming 2026 graduate of CATIE’s Master’s Degree in Coffee Production (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center), to conduct research focused on one of the most important challenges for the sustainability and competitiveness of the country’s coffee sector.

Beatriz, originally from Río Blanco de Dota, currently works at the Coffee Institute of Costa Rica (ICAFE), where she serves as coordinator of assurance, labor, and interinstitutional relations. Her professional experience led her to examine a reality that Costa Rica’s coffee sector faces every year: its growing dependence on temporary migrant labor during the harvest season and the need to improve mechanisms for understanding, planning, and managing workforce availability.

Her final research project, titled “Evaluation of Coffee Harvest Labor Traceability and Proposal for a Comprehensive Labor Demand Management Strategy to Strengthen Costa Rica’s Coffee Sector,”proposes moving from a reactive approach toward a more preventive, planned, and coordinated model involving the different institutions and stakeholders in the sector.

The proposal highlights the importance of anticipating labor demand, organizing recruitment processes in workers’ places of origin, promoting regular and safe migration, strengthening social and labor protections, and using tools that provide timely information for decision-making.

“The availability of labor is a strategic challenge for the sustainability and competitiveness of Costa Rica’s coffee sector. This research seeks to contribute to more planned, traceable, and inclusive labor management, benefiting both workers and the productive sector,” Elizondo explained.

The goal is for the research to contribute to strengthening a national strategy that ensures the timely availability of coffee pickers during the harvest season, improves institutional coordination, and creates better conditions for those working in one of Costa Rica’s most important agricultural activities.

For Beatriz, one of the main contributions of CATIE’s Master’s Degree in Coffee Production was the opportunity to analyze an issue she was already familiar with through her professional experience, but from a more strategic and evidence-based perspective.

“The master’s program allowed me to broaden my perspective and strengthen the tools needed to move from identifying a problem to developing a strategic proposal with a preventive, interinstitutional, and results-oriented approach,” she said.

The knowledge and findings obtained through the research are already being applied in her work at ICAFE, particularly in processes related to managing and ensuring the availability of coffee harvest labor and strengthening coordination among the institutions involved.

For the upcoming graduate, the greatest value of the program was the opportunity to connect academic knowledge with a real need in the coffee sector and develop a proposal with practical applications.

“A master’s degree at CATIE is an opportunity to broaden your professional perspective and develop tools to address complex problems. It is not simply about earning a degree, but about generating change, contributing solutions, and putting knowledge at the service of sustainable development,” she stated.

Training to Address the Challenges Facing the Coffee Sector

Beatriz Elizondo’s experience illustrates how CATIE’s graduate education seeks to connect knowledge, research, and innovation with the real-world challenges facing productive sectors across Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Master’s Degree in Sustainable and Regenerative Coffee Production offers international training for professionals interested in understanding and transforming coffee production systems from productive, environmental, social, and economic perspectives.

Those interested can still explore CATIE’s academic offerings and receive personalized information about upcoming educational opportunities. The virtual master’s programs will begin in September 2026, while the international in-person and blended-learning master’s programs will begin in March 2027.

More information about CATIE’s academic programs: https://www.catie.ac.cr/cual-es-nuestra-oferta-academica/

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