GLOBAL COFFEEPLATFORM

Bringing the coffee sector together

The sell-out Global Coffee Sustainability Conference 2017 gathered 200 diverse leaders and influencers together in Geneva – as well as around 600 online participants via the live-stream – to align on priorities and discuss how to act collectively to promote further progress towards making the sector sustainable.

Following the lively discussions and ideas generated at the World Coffee Producers Forum in July, we wanted to support transforming these ideas into action and tangible programs.

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Practical ideas and actions

The conference provided participants with many opportunities to accelerate and multiply their individual and company contributions through the Country Platforms in 8 coffee-producing countries, and our Collective Action Networks which focus on three key thematic issues; the Economic Viability of Farming, Climate Smart Agriculture and Gender & Youth.

Speakers and panellists including Roberto Vélez Vallejo, CEO of the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) and Dominic Waughray, Head of Public-Private Partnership, World Economic Forum and panellists including representatives from the ICO, AFCA, Nestlé, Rabobank, Olam, JDE, Tchibo and others gave fresh insights into the issues and work going on around the world. You can see the presentations given by speakers and panelists here.

This was a unique opportunity to focus on global and national priorities, and it was clear that these can only be effectively addressed through collective action and collaboration through the Country platforms and Collective Action Networks.

Building progress and momentum behind the Economic Viability of Farming

The thematic focus of the conference was the Economic Viability of Farming, which follows on from the renewed focus on the topic following the World Coffee Producers Forum.

During an interactive poll, participants voted on which aspects of the Economic Viability of Farming. The poll showed that participants wanted to focus on:

  1. Strategies to improve livelihoods
  2. Supporting actions to optimize productivity
  3. Supporting National Platforms
  4. Influencing the regulatory environment
Poll Results Final

The results of the live poll taken during the conference.

We have taken on board the results of the EVOF poll during the conference and the outcomes of the World Coffee Producers Forum to build a proposal for next steps for our Economic Viability of Farming Collective Action Network. We will look at the top priorities, and develop global and country specific proposals.

If you’re interested in this topic, join the Economic Viability of Farming Collective Action Network webinar on 24 October to contribute and shape progress.

New cooperation and collaboration

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Annette Pensel and Moenardji Soedargo, Chair of SCOPI, at the Global Coffee Sustainability Conference 2017.

Fragmentation prevents everyone getting the most out of the time and effort they invest into coffee sustainability. That’s why it is so important to establish true collaboration and cooperation in order to have maximum possible impact at farm level and across the whole sector.

We’re delighted that several key agreements and Memoranda of Understanding were signed and announced at the conference, which will help the sector work together more effectively and cohesively on priority areas.

Highlights include:

GCP and ICO’s ‘Cooperation for Vision 2030’

The Global Coffee Platform (GCP) and the International Coffee Organization (ICO), signed a new Memorandum of Understanding to continue and expand the alliance for public-private collaboration in the coffee sector to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. This collaboration will be known as ‘Cooperation for Vision 2030’.

This MoU is key to bringing the work on the inclusive, sector wide Vision 2030 to the next level, in collaboration with other key initiatives including the World Coffee Producers Forum and the Sustainable Coffee Challenge. It aims to rally public and private actors in the coffee sector to contribute to achieving this Vision with measurable progress, as contribution to the SDGs.

Read more >

The Global Coffee Platform and the German Ministry for International Coopertaion (giz) signed an agreement to implement a project to support the developing platform.

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has provided a €400,000 grant to giz to support the emerging Kenyan coffee platform as a public-private vehicle to address the priority needs of the Kenyan coffee sector. The grant will support capacity development of public and private extension services for coffee growers, setting up a continuous monitoring system to track and monitor the adoption of NSC practices and strengthening of institutional capacity supporting the National Coffee Platform.

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Driving the issue of gender and youth forward

The Global Coffee Platform (GCP) and Coffee Quality Institute’s Partnership for Gender Equity (CQI-PGE) intensified their cooperation by signing a Memorandum of Understanding to drive the issue of gender and youth onto the coffee sector’s agenda and further accelerate collective action.

This aims to provide a stronger and more effective ecosystem for stakeholders wishing to address the issues associated to gender equality. This is good news for GCP Members as the MoU provides various opportunities to advance their sustainability efforts, including contributing to field research to identify gender and generational based risks and opportunities and participation in strategic field level projects that unlock the potential of women, youth and their families.

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Memorandum of Understanding between the Global Coffee Platform (GCP) and the Sustainable Coffee Platform of Indonesia (SCOPI)

The renewed cooperation builds on their existing collaboration and aims to further enable the public and private sectors in the Indonesian coffee sector to work together to improve the economic opportunities for coffee farmers, improve food security for coffee communities, and increase environmental sustainability.

Read more >

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Thank you for attending!

We thank everyone who attended and participated in the conference for their support, energy and ideas. We look forward to working together to make a more sustainable coffee world – and we hope to see you at the conference next year!