A couple of weeks ago Greggs reported that sales were up thanks to the popularity of its flat whites and its new Balanced Choices range. Having just returned from coffee growing communities in Peru, I was excited to see that their hard work growing quality coffee for Greggs is paying off.
In Chanchamayo, Peru, the ingredients of climate, altitude, soil and age-old techniques come together to produce quality beans. We heard time and time again how proud farmers were of their coffee, in an area that has been producing the crop for generations. Smallholder farmer Wendelin Geronimo Richler says: “For me coffee is a tradition. It comes from our grandfathers, my father, and now myself … It is an achievement of life and of family.”
Geronimo is a member of La Florida co-operative which produces organic coffee. The community has benefited from agricultural training techniques in organic farming, as well as how to manage their plantations and businesses more effectively. Geronimo said the three key benefits of Fairtrade are that it gives farmers a good and sustainable life, the support on offer helps to control the quality of their produce and it ensures they take care of the environment. Every farmer we spoke to told us about how committed they are to improving the quality of their crops, even whilst coping with problems caused by climate change, from the El Niño weather phenomenon to plant diseases which have wiped out whole crops in many Latin American communities.
The Fairtrade Premium, which is often invested in farming and training but also healthcare or education for the community, has even helped improve local roads. In this rural area getting crops to market, to the co-operative, is a challenge. There is no public transport and some farms are quite isolated so many have to walk miles. Improving roads and infrastructure has made a big difference. One young woman described her day. She gets up at 4am to wash the coffee, before going out to work on the fields all day, returning to give the coffee another wash in the evening.
This process of washing helps to improve its quality. As Obdulia Carhuanyanqui Pajar, who lives high in the mountains, says, “We do our best, and we harvest at the right time, when it is ripe, we de-pulp the cherries, then we wash when it is the time to be washed and dry the beans when it is needed.” Obdulia told us about the difference Fairtrade has made to her family. Thanks to Fairtrade she could afford to educate her children, who are now professionals, including her daughter who is a pharmacist. But she added, “We need more improvements in our living places, for our children and for our grandchildren, and we need the support of Fairtrade. Because we work and fight to produce the best, maybe with the hope of better prices.”
Historically, coffee growing communities have received low prices for their crops. But for the past year the Fairtrade Minimum Price has been above the international market price for coffee, which is a safety net covering the cost of production. On top of this, Fairtrade offers extra support through the additional Premium which helps to improve quality of life.
Before we left, many of the farmers thanked us, but they also asked us to describe their lives and the sacrifices they make to produce quality coffee for customers, buyers, and businesses in the UK. We’re delighted that Greggs is already beginning to spread that message, by telling the stories of these farmers at its annual staff conference in September. They want their staff to remember the work those farmers have put in to ensure their beans are of the highest quality just as their baristas work hard every time they make a cappuccino. And they want their staff to be proud of the support offered to these communities, so they can tell their customers that they are helping to improve farmers’ lives every time they buy a cup of Fairtrade coffee.
As farmer, Oswaldo Tiofilo Ramos Sanabria says, “Our work is intertwined between the producer and the consumer. And the relationship should be direct, from the producer to the consumer, because it helps the farmer have a better life and it gives the consumer an aromatic cup of coffee.”
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