As it celebrates ten years of its Common Grounds farmer programs, global coffee conglomerate JDE Peet’s is calling on the coffee industry to support supply chain resilience.
In a statement, the company is encouraging the sector to implement the Regenerative Agriculture Coffee Roadmap in order to help secure the future of coffee.
The Roadmap, developed through TechnoServe’s Regenerative Coffee Investment Case, supports farmers in adopting proven regenerative practices, helping to increase the incomes of more 3 million smallholders, boost coffee exports by 30 per cent, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3.5 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.
“Everyone wins when we have resilient coffee supply chains – consumers, companies like ours, and most importantly, coffee farmers. Working together with our partners, we’ve reached almost a million farmers in the past 10 years, helping them to become more resilient,” says Laurent Sagarra, VP Engagement.
“But we can’t wait a century to reach all the other farmers who need support – especially in the face of worsening climate risks. That’s why we’re calling on every industry player to join us in adopting the Regenerative Agriculture Coffee Roadmap.
“We urgently need to implement agricultural practices that will mitigate climate risks, improve farmer livelihoods and secure the future of coffee for everyone. The coffee industry needs its coffee farmers and the time to act is now.”
According to the company, its Common Grounds sustainability strategy – which was launched a decade ago – was introduced to enhance the resilience of the coffee supply chain and, in turn, benefit consumers, industry players and coffee farmers through driving regenerative agriculture, supporting farmer prosperity, and creating thriving coffee communities.
The strategies are planned with a data-driven approach, as projects are based on a comprehensive ‘assess, address, progress’ system that is verified by independent external assessments.
Since 2015, the farmer programs have led to a collaboration with partners that have reached more than 835,000 farmers across 29 countries. Implementation of regenerative agricultural practices, including soil management and water conservation, have taken place in 50 per cent of farms covered by the programs. According to JDE Peet’s, it has also achieved 83.2 per cent responsibly sourced green coffee globally, including 100 per cent responsibly sourced green coffee in Europe.
