SHORT SUPPLY
SPECIAL FEATURE ON SUSTAINABILITY
How a multi stakeholder approach can solve supply chain challenges
Words: Tom Blackwall
The coffee supply chain faces existential challenges including price volatility, climate change and geopolitical issues, which farmers are feeling more keenly than ever. If we don’t act now by taking a joined-up, multi-stakeholder approach, the sustainability of the coffee industry will be called into question.
At Finlays, our global coffee supply chain is wonderfully diverse and complex, stretching across 23 countries. from the slopes of Hualalai in Hawaii to the mountains of Aceh in Indonesia. It’s this diversity which creates the endless sensory possibilities in our coffee blends and extracts.
It’s also because of our global reach and long-standing relationships that we see and hear first-hand the size and scale of the challenges facing coffee farmers across the globe today. Challenges such as price volatility, climate change, social and geopolitical issues. Many of these, on their own, would be a problem for a small-scale farmer. However, when combined, as they typically are, solving them becomes even harder.
But solve them we must – the long-term sustainability of our industry is at stake! And while many in our industry are aware of the issues, the materiality of life as a coffee farmer is something that bears shedding some light on.
So, to get an on-the-ground perspective on these issues, I spoke with various actors across our supply chain – from suppliers to research organizations and customers.
First, I spoke with Rafael Fonseca from Coomap, one of our long-term suppliers in Brazil. He told me that price volatility is a major concern for farmers in Brazil.
“Not being able to know if the market will skyrocket or just melt brings a lot of tension to farmers. This may mean the difference between a profitable crop or just covering the cost of production and this unpredictability of price threatens the very future of coffee. Deciding whether they’ll follow in their parents’ footsteps or choose a different career is a dilemma faced by all teens whose parents are coffee growers.”
A True Price and Solidaridad study in Colombia estimated that under monoculture farming, and with smallholders, income from coffee was insufficient to reach a living income.
Alejandro Lozano from Expocafe, one of our Colombian suppliers, explains: “Low income due to a lack of education among Colombian coffee growers leads to a misallocation of resources. Farm management becomes chaotic, worsened by international economic volatility, impacting internal prices and production costs.” He adds that the way out “requires education to improve decision making, sustainability practices, and health outcomes. Empowering growers with knowledge fosters a harmonious relationship between growers, nature and business regulators.”
Climate change continues to destabilize and threaten the livelihoods of farmers all around the globe. From the Brazil frost in 2021 to the droughts in Vietnam in 2024, farmers have to be adaptable to constant temperature changes and extreme weather events.
Climate change continues to destabilize and threaten the livelihoods of farmers.
In response to ever-changing climate conditions, Coomap has introduced a regenerative agriculture program for all of its 670 members. As Rafael puts it: “COOMAP provides inputs and technical orientation so that our members use cover plants on their crops, something essential for protecting soil, reducing the use of herbicides and the impact of uncertain weather conditions.” Alejandro, meanwhile, adds that we need to focus on encouraging a strong connection between coffee growers and nature. “We should focus on issues like deforestation, biodiversity balance, and responsible use of farm inputs such as agrochemicals, fertilizers and protective elements,” he observes.
The Finlays Supplier Relationship Management program is built on the philosophy that long- term, intimate relationships with our suppliers create long-term sustainability for them and long-term security for us. Within our program, we identify origin risks, understand the most salient issues that our suppliers are facing and we identify collaborative projects which help our suppliers overcome key challenges and continuously improve. This approach enables us to identify the projects which will have the greatest impact on our supply chain, such as the waste water management project with Coomap and our low-carbon coffee initiative with Expocafe.
We recognize that these formidable challenges cannot be tackled alone. We need to come together as an industry to help build positive impact. That is why Finlays are members of World Coffee Research which aspires to change the coffee world through scientific research and innovation.
These formidable challenges cannot be tackled alone.
Vern Long, the organization’s CEO tells me: “Innovation is at the heart of successful farming. In coffee, improved varieties - like disease resistant varieties - unlock value for farmers by reducing risk. Investment in innovation has improved the sustainability and productivity of agriculture for a hundred-plus years - and through investments in variety development at WCR, Finlays is supporting research that will enable us to achieve our shared industry sustainability goals.”
Innovation is at the heart of successful farming.
And as Nate Creasey from Ground Up Coffee and Tea puts it: “Most of us that work in coffee love the international aspect of the industry, but in times like these we must take the good with the bad. Our world is a beautiful, yet complicated place, and I hope more of the world’s population understands what it takes to get coffee in their cup.”
Tom Blackwall
Group Head of Coffee Tom.Blackwall@Finlays.net
