Coffee Barometer 2020
The year 2020 has long captivated the coffee sector’s imagination as the culmination of the sustainability transformation process set in motion after the 2002 coffee
crisis. Over the past decades, development of sustainability solutions has been picking
up pace and is rapidly expanding in numbers, scope and global presence. In general, it
seems the constraints and potential solutions are known, but a widely agreed strategy for achieving sustainable links between coffee production and coffee consumption
remains elusive. This is due to the sector’s inclination to focus on continuous growth
of production to meet global demand. This means that even if some specific gains are
achieved at farm level, they are never sufficient to sustainably transform other links in
the value chain, like trade and consumption. This 6th edition of the Coffee Barometer
reflects on how the coffee sector could create truly systemic changes that are sustainable and impactful, instead of limiting itself to only managing a confusing set of issues,
problems and contradictions.
crisis. Over the past decades, development of sustainability solutions has been picking
up pace and is rapidly expanding in numbers, scope and global presence. In general, it
seems the constraints and potential solutions are known, but a widely agreed strategy for achieving sustainable links between coffee production and coffee consumption
remains elusive. This is due to the sector’s inclination to focus on continuous growth
of production to meet global demand. This means that even if some specific gains are
achieved at farm level, they are never sufficient to sustainably transform other links in
the value chain, like trade and consumption. This 6th edition of the Coffee Barometer
reflects on how the coffee sector could create truly systemic changes that are sustainable and impactful, instead of limiting itself to only managing a confusing set of issues,
problems and contradictions.
While the Covid-19 pandemic has delivered the biggest and broadest value chain shock
in recent history, it is only the latest in a series of disruptions that has exposed the
fragility of the global coffee sector. Only a decade ago, the aftershocks of the global
economic crisis and the devastating spread of the plant disease roya in Latin America
created havoc in coffee communities. Extreme droughts in Brazil’s main coffee areas made headlines in 2016/17. In August 2018, the commodity futures price dropped
below US$1.00 per pound for the first time in twelve years (SCA, 2020). Alongside low
coffee prices, production costs for producers have also increased sharply since 2010,
further squeezing incomes (Sachs et al., 2019) Consequently, the livelihoods of coffee
producing households, the majority of which are led by smallholders in low- and middle-income countries, are increasingly at risk (ICO, 2019b).
in recent history, it is only the latest in a series of disruptions that has exposed the
fragility of the global coffee sector. Only a decade ago, the aftershocks of the global
economic crisis and the devastating spread of the plant disease roya in Latin America
created havoc in coffee communities. Extreme droughts in Brazil’s main coffee areas made headlines in 2016/17. In August 2018, the commodity futures price dropped
below US$1.00 per pound for the first time in twelve years (SCA, 2020). Alongside low
coffee prices, production costs for producers have also increased sharply since 2010,
further squeezing incomes (Sachs et al., 2019) Consequently, the livelihoods of coffee
producing households, the majority of which are led by smallholders in low- and middle-income countries, are increasingly at risk (ICO, 2019b).
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PGEs gender project methodology have been endorse by many actors in the coffee industry.
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The data capturing tool, enables SAFE members to understand better the behavoiur and patterns of their projects, compare...
