Blog

Coffee Climate Crisis - a new campaign from Cafedirect

Richard Lemmer | 13.05.12

Quality coffee supplies are at risk as smallholder farmers struggle to cope with climate change.

More than three-quarters of all coffee in the world is produced by smallholder farmers, many of whom earn their living growing coffee on tiny patches of land in developing countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. And already the impacts of climate change have been devastating, leaving them struggling to cope with a host of critical issues, including flooding, drought, pests and crop diseases.

So today we are launching a campaign, Climate Coffee Crisis, to highlight the need for action and to share the inspiring story of how a co-operative of more than 6,000 farmers in Peru are pioneering new ways to adapt and respond to climate change. Cafedirect has released a report and video that explains the amazing story.

As Cafedirect buy's direct from the smallholder farmers, they hear first hand about the conditions the farmers are facing, so over the last six years they have helped to set up the foundations for a ground-breaking project that has enabled the farmers adapt to climate change through reforestation which has been
funded through carbon trading. It’s the first project of its kind anywhere in the world.

But there are 25 million coffee farming families in 60 countries around the world, so much more needs to be done. The story in the report is just one example of many.

If we don’t all act now, we will all be left counting the cost. Coffee will become more expensive, its quality will decline, and it may even become harder to get hold off. It doesn’t bear thinking about.
We don’t want to have to imagine a world without coffee.

It’s so important that everyone who is passionate about coffee does their bit, not just coffee brands, supermarkets and cafés, but also the most important people of all – coffee lovers!

You really can make a huge difference by buying responsible brands that they know are investing in the future of smallholder coffee farmers and therefore the future of our daily cup of coffee.

Help us to spread the word:
• Read the amazing report.
• Watch the video
• Tweet with the campaign hashtag - #coffeeclimatecrisis
• Become a Friend of Cafedirect