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Perking up the coffee business

In Peru, family producers are blazing a path toward green growth

June 27^th, 2017

Peruvian coffee has gained fame as a high-quality, specialty coffee. Peru is now the second largest exporter of organic coffee beans after Mexico. Coffee produced here reaches markets in over 50 countries and has made a special name for itself - especially in the United States, Germany and Belgium.

Despite its growing popularity abroad, though, the coffee sector of Peru still faces many problems at home. With social, economic and environmental troubles brewing in coffee-growing regions, thousands of family producers, unable to reap the fruits of their labour, continue to live in poverty.

A FAMILY AFFAIR

Coffee growing in Peru is mainly a family business. All family members play a role, and the operation supports an entire household or extended family, from one generation to the next. Women are involved in all stages of the process, as producers, association leaders, trade union representatives, tasters and baristas. The work has given women a chance to become independent leaders in their communities, while also benefiting their families and communities.

Coffee production, which involves the work of entire families, has earned Peru renown as a producer of high-quality, specialty brew.

Still, most farms are small: 85 percent of producers work less than five hectares of land. The process requires heavy use of labour: producers spend long days on activities ranging from selecting seeds for seedling production, crop management and harvesting to post-harvest processing, storage and marketing of the product.

With more women than ever involved in growing coffee, their families and communities are now better off.

a rich brew

Coffee is grown on the eastern slopes of the Andes Mountains, from 800 to 2,000 metres above sea level. While this terrain can be tough for producers, it creates a rich and aromatic brew. Most of the crop is Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) and includes the varieties Typica, Bourbon, Pache, Caturra and Catimor.

Although coffee is produced in 14 of Peru’s regions, 95 percent of coffee-growing lands are concentrated in seven of these: Cajamarca, San Martín, Junín, Amazonas, Cusco, Huánuco and Pasco.

INDUSTRY CHALLENGES

The coffee sector faces significant challenges, and many families are unable to compete fully in the global market. For one, around 77 percent of producers run their farms without technical or business management expertise. Most have little access to financing, which often means families don’t reach the full potential of their yield. In addition, pests and diseases, such as coffee leaf rust, severely affect coffee production, leaving families with insufficient resources to continue their operations.

Low levels of production have put the continuity of businesses at risk. Farmers under pressure to perform and profit from their businesses then turn to increasing extractive practices, which puts additional pressure on Amazon forests. Encouraging farmers to improve their production practices is essential not only to fighting rural poverty but also countering deforestation, biodiversity loss and climate change.

a greener commodity

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with support from the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), is implementing the Green Commodities Programme in Peru.

The aim of the initiative is to promote sustainable production while increasing the competitiveness of Peruvian coffee. By making production activities and ecosystem conservation compatible, the project helps protect forests and conserve the rich biodiversity of the region.

A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Demand for coffee may be increasing worldwide, but expanding coffee cultivation is a potential cause of deforestation. That’s why it is crucial to make cultivation practices sustainable. A healthy ecosystem – including the water cycle, climate and soil fertility – requires maintenance to keep its balance. Conserving the forests is also good for business: it means the crop will remain productive through pollination for a long time.

That’s why UNDP is working with the government to bring the public and private sectors together to design a National Coffee Action Plan. The benefits are three-fold: improve the livelihoods of producers and their families, supply the world with the finest coffee and preserve the natural environment – for many generations to come.