Good coffee ‘no longer a given’ thanks to extreme weather

By the Climate Centre

This is a transcript of a conversation between Harm Goossens, Netherlands Red Cross Director and Climate Centre board member, Meine van der Graaf, impact manager at coffee brand Wakuli – a fast-growing Dutch sustainable coffee brand that pays 16,000 coffee farmers in 13 countries a fair price and helps them work sustainably. The second in a series, it appeared in Dutch in Het Financieele Dagblad, which puts the questions, and has been translated and slightly edited by the Climate Centre.

Het Financieele Dagblad: What are you noticing about the extreme weather?

Van der Graaf: The coffee farmers that we work with notice it very directly. In recent years there has been more frequent unpredictable rain, longer droughts and sudden hailstorms. One consequence is that coffee beans no longer ripen at the same time, making harvesting much more labour-intensive. In addition, harvests fail, coffee quality fluctuates and farmers have less income and higher costs. Good coffee is no longer a given.

Goossens: Ninety per cent of all natural disasters are related to extreme weather. Farmers and local communities worldwide are increasingly being hit hard. This is why we from the Red Cross not only provide emergency aid, but also work with local volunteers on prevention. Every euro we invest in preventing a disaster saves an average of 16 euros in emergency aid afterwards.’

HFD: Why is coffee so sensitive to climate change?

Van der Graaf: Coffee only grows in a narrow band around the equator, under very specific conditions. That stability is disappearing. In Honduras we had an extremely wet season this year while in Brazil everything withered. That disrupts the flowering of the plant, resulting in loss of quality. Diseases and pests also pop up more often. And monocultures make coffee extra vulnerable. Plants in full sun, depending on fertilizers and pesticides, are just like people on steroids: they appear strong, but are internally depleted. One climate shock and the system collapses.

Goossens: It’s disaster upon disaster, as we see more often at the Red Cross. Extreme weather causes coffee farmers to lose income because harvests fail. People then become more dependent on humanitarian aid, such as food parcels or cash assistance. This is precisely why we help people even before the disaster: if you can prevent crops from failing and if you can respond to the consequences of extreme weather, then you are helping people in a sustainable way.

HFD: Why does Wakuli work primarily with farmers in vulnerable areas?

Van der Graaf: Because that’s where we can make the most difference. In Colombia, for example, many buyers already pay fairly, but in areas such as Mbinga in Tanzania, the southernmost province of Rwanda, or Idjwi island in Congo, farmers are economically extra vulnerable. There are few other buyers there, while the quality of the coffee is good. That is precisely where our approach makes the biggest difference.

HFD: You pay above average for a kilo of coffee. What does that business model look like?

Van der Graaf: We pay an average of US$ 6.94 per kilogram of coffee, compared to an average world market price of US$ 3.85. The farmer benefits from that higher price. Coffee is usually their only source of cash income. From it they pay school fees for their children and invest in their farms. The fair price and our purchase guarantee create trust. Farmers know that we will stay, even when the going gets tough. As a result, even in today’s strained coffee market, we can rely on our partners to deliver high quality coffee at a price that works for everyone.   

‘In Honduras we had an extremely wet season this year while in Brazil everything withered’

HFD: Wakuli and the Red Cross are both active in Myanmar, which has just suffered a major earthquake and is unsettled anyway. How do you work in such a complex context?

Goossens: The Red Cross has been active for years in Myanmar, where many people are dependent on humanitarian aid due to conflict and poor economic conditions. After the recent earthquake, we scaled up that assistance: we provide food, medical aid, shelter and clean water. Thanks to hundreds of local volunteers, we hope people will soon be able to resume their lives, but that will take months.

Van der Graaf: After the coup, many companies left. We continued to work with them because we didn’t want them to be punished because of their regime. We still pay a good price, but it is one of the few places where it is difficult for us to make direct contact with the farmers.

Goossens: If Wakuli doesn’t have eyes on the ground, we can fill that role. That is exactly the power of working together: linking our local presence to the farmers you work with. The Red Cross has those contacts with the local population precisely because our volunteers speak the language and know the culture. So if a company or organization wants to get closer to the local community, it can also do so through the Red Cross.

How do you make farmers more resilient?

Van der Graaf: We work together to raise awareness of risks as well as their own strengths. We don’t tell farmers what to do, but enable them to make smart choices, for example, by analyzing data together and testing regenerative methods. In Uganda, we see that a growing group of farmers is embracing compost production and the use of ground cover because the coffee yield is simply higher. That is convincing.

Goossens: We do something similar with village councils. Together we map risks. What is the impact of extreme weather and how can we best prevent it? The Red Cross then builds warning systems, so that people leave their homes in time when flooding threatens or bring in the harvest earlier when it gets very dry. It is so important that people themselves come up with solutions. Local people know best what works for them. Local people lead; the Red Cross facilitates.

HFD: What else is being done?

Goossens: In Indonesia, together with local volunteers, we dig half-moons, so-called earth smiles. These retain rainwater longer, so that it slowly seeps into the ground. If you don’t do that, the water will drain away, because dry soil does not absorb water well. And you don’t want that. These are simple, locally supported adaptations that work very practically. In Honduras, we even produce Red Cross coffee together with coffee farmers, with the proceeds going to the community.

Van der Graaf: In Tanzania we are starting a compost project with 50 farmers. We will support them in making compost and test the effect against plots of land where artificial fertilizer is still being used. In Uganda we are already seeing huge yield improvements. It’s not rocket science. Everything is literally on your doorstep.

‘The Red Cross knows extreme weather, natural solutions and how communities become more resilient. You want to combine that expertise with companies’

HFD: How does technology help?

Goossens: With satellite data we can measure what the impact of extreme weather will be. And thanks to warning systems, we can warn farmers of approaching drought or, the opposite, rainfall. So they can take measures in time and limit damage.

Van der Graaf: In Uganda, we made drought analyses based on satellite images with a data company. We shared these with our local partner. Combined with their own knowledge, this led to concrete action – such as investing in shade trees or water storage. Farmer knowledge and data reinforce each other.’

HFD: You advocate regenerative agriculture. Why is that particularly important for coffee?

Van der Graaf: Coffee naturally grows in the shade of trees. But because of economies of scale, it is increasingly done in full sun, with all the risks that entails. By returning to shade trees, ground cover and compost, you build resilience. It starts with the soil. It determines how much water a plant holds, how disease-resistant it is, and how good the harvest is. Researchers expect that by 2050 only half of today’s land will be suitable for Arabica. If we do nothing, coffee will become scarce and expensive. But if we engage in regenerative farming, much is still possible. That way we make the whole community more resilient.

Goossens: According to the UN, 40 per cent of all land on earth is so dry that it is no longer very suitable to grow crops on. That’s why we have to take action now. And that is not only the responsibility of the farmers themselves, but also of the companies that work with them.

HFD: That does cost more money. Will coffee still be affordable soon?

Van der Graaf: The prices of the past decades were too low anyway. In this model the farmers are subsidizing our cup of coffee – that is unsustainable. In the city we quietly pay six euros for a flat white, but at home it may only cost a few dimes. By focusing on quality at home, too, we believe that can be done differently.

HFD: Are you concerned about the current situation of coffee farmers?

Goossens: Yes, because I know how many people worldwide depend on stable conditions. Now we can usually still help. But if it continues like this – if disasters keeps piling up – soon we won’t be able to provide that help everywhere even with all our volunteers. Then it will simply be too much.

Van der Graaf: I am not afraid, but I do find it frustrating how slow it is going. At the same time it also gives me energy, because we see that things can be done differently. With farmers experimenting and consumers making conscious choices.

HFD: How do we get that system to be more robust?

Goossens: Through more collaboration. The Red Cross has so much knowledge of extreme weather, from natural solutions to how communities become more resilient. You want to combine that expertise with companies. After all, they have the resources and the responsibility to make communities more resilient.

Van der Graaf: Local, respectful and long-term: that’s how we work with farmers. They know better than anyone else what works. When we link that knowledge to technology and fair trade, things really start moving.

Meine van der Graaf’s (at left) company Wakuli is a fast-growing Dutch sustainable coffee brand that pays 16,000 coffee farmers in 13 countries a fair price and helps them work sustainably. At Unilever as global head of sustainability, Harm Goossens saw how dependent supply chains for food, herbs, spices and other raw materials are on stable natural conditions and resilient local communities. (Photo: NLRC)