Ask a farmer what their main worry is. Many will say climate change. And it’s not just farmers who are worried. Businesses and consumers are increasingly citing the future sustainability of food as a significant concern. Leading companies, from Starbucks to Lavazza, believe it is a significant risk to the security of their supply chains, which is why so many businesses have begun investing in their own sustainability schemes, and are working with certification bodies like Fairtrade. The developing countries producing these crops are not only the most at risk of climate change, but are less able to withstand related shocks. Shoppers are also concerned about fair wages for farmers and the future availability of sustainably produced food, as a recent survey showed. And if supply can’t keep up with demand, clearly prices will have to rise.
In the coffee sector in particular, research suggests we’re running out of time. A Brewing Storm: the climate change risks to coffee (pdf), a report from the Climate Institute and Fairtrade Australia, projects that 50% of the world’s coffee producing land will disappear by 2050, forcing production away from the equator and up mountains, leading to deforestation and further global warming.
Coffee relies on a particular climate and as the world heats up, yields deplete or crops are wiped out altogether. In the case of the arabica coffee bean, which is used for speciality drinks like cappuccinos and lattes, much research has shown it is at risk of becoming extinct because the plant is so vulnerable to disease and climate change.
Many of the countries which rely on exporting coffee for the stability of their economy, such as Honduras, Nicaragua, Vietnam, and Guatemala, are also most at risk to the effects of climate change, and have suffered the most climate-related damages since the 1990s. The other challenge is that the majority of smallholder farmers and workers producing coffee are struggling to survive on low prices and poverty wages. Currently, many are in a precarious position in an oversupplied market. Unrelenting price volatility makes it hard for them to plan ahead or adapt to climate change. They are focusing on making ends meet rather than investing in agricultural techniques, tools or training that could protect them.
Two of the main threats to plants are coffee leaf rust disease which wiped out crops across Central America when increased rainfall created the perfect conditions for the disease to spread. It resulted in losses of around $500m (£376m) in 2012-13, whilst a pest, the coffee berry borer, causes around the same amount of damage per year. The coffee berry borer thrives on heat and while it was previously only seen in the Congo it has now been drawn by hotter, wetter conditions across the main coffee producing regions.
Farmers and workers bear the brunt of these problems but the market is also at risk. As global temperatures heat up, coffee crops won’t survive and supplies will dwindle, so companies must act now, and scale up their efforts and investments to address the risks posed by climate change. And they can do that by working closely with Fairtrade.
Under the Fairtrade system, smallholder farmers have to follow rigorous standards that protect the environment and in turn receive a Minimum Price offering security in the face of market volatility. On top of sales, the additional Fairtrade Premium can be invested in whatever farmers decide they need most. Exclusively in the coffee sector, Fairtrade ensures that at least 25% of this - or €10m (£8.4m) per year - must be spent on improving productivity and quality, which includes building the capacity of farms to respond to climate change. The Fairtrade Carbon Credits initiative also aims to empower farmers to cut emissions and all of this helps farmers to become more resilient to climate change. In the worst affected places, for example in communities still suffering from coffee leaf rust , Fairtrade has gone even further with its Deepening Impact Programme.
Consumers want to choose brands that guarantee a fair return to smallholder farmers and their communities. In the face of increased uncertainty and risk in our coffee supply chains, it is likely shoppers and campaigners will up the pressure, demanding more from businesses and governments around the world. At Fairtrade, we urge them to respond, before it is too late.
Content on this page is paid for and provided by Fairtrade Foundation, sponsor of the spotlight on commodities series
