Coffee prices lure iPad farmers in Honduras

Sporting a sharp suit and tie, economist Moises Starkman showed photos on an iPad of his coffee fields in central Honduras after a price boom lured him into trying his luck in the centuries-old trade.

He joins the growing ranks of professionals swapping ties for coffee baskets as coffee fever sweeps part of Central America, where beans are fetching near-record prices.

"Everybody wants to be a coffee producer now," said Mario Ordóñez, technical manager of the national coffee institute. "Lawyers, doctors, engineers, economists, military men and politicians are planting farms, all looking to make money from these great prices."

Original source: Reuters