The International Coffee Organization has published the findings of its third consultative forum on coffee sector finance, which it hopes will serve as a roadmap for implementing strategies for risk management and finance solutions for coffee cooperatives worldwide. The forum, which was held during the 111th session of the International Coffee Council in September last year, brought together coffee experts from around the world to examine the challenges and opportunities facing coffee producers. The result was an exhaustive list of the driving and restraining forces that affect coffee producers’ ability to aggregate and form cooperatives. This list was then narrowed down to the most significant handful of factors in each category. The top three driving forces are:
• Market incentives for farmers to organize
• Examples of successful cooperatives
• Management and leadership skills And the top four restraining forces are:
• Lack of female participation
• Lack of education about cooperatives
• Poor legal framework and corruption
• Risk aversion risk management These top factors will now be addressed by the Core Group of the International Coffee Council in order to encourage farmer aggregation and improve access to finance and risk management. The full report can be viewed here.
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