Summary
Colombian coffee is recognized for its high quality due to the biogeographical conditions in which it is grown and the postharvest processes that the fruit undergoes in the farms until the dry parchment coffee (dpc) is obtained. For example, wet milling, a process widely implemented in Colombia, uses large volumes of water, which generates large amounts of byproducts and wastewater. In Colombia, coffee farms have adopted various certification programs or voluntary sustainability standards, which are consistent with the environmental criteria for efficient water management. Thus, this study was conducted to evaluate the impact of the standards required by six of these certification programs and six combinations of programs on the water resources used in coffee farms in southern Colombia. Such an impact was evaluated through indices related to the management of domestic wastewater, the efficient management of the resource, and the environmental quality of the residual water generated during wet milling of beans, comparing groups of certified and noncertified farms using the propensity score matching method in a sample of 461 farms. The findings of this study indicated that the combination of Café Practice and Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International and the application of CPr and Organic programs alone are the best indicators. However, in general, certification has a positive impact on the management of water resources on coffee farms with regard to reduced consumption and pollution.