March 2023
At JDE Peet’s we’re committed to 100% responsibly sourced coffee and tea by 2025. Underpinning this commitment are three core focus areas that we are working hard to deliver: Sustainability of land, Equality of people and Prosperity of farmers. This article details why and how we’re working to create a better future for farming communities.
Responsible Sourcing
We work with our suppliers to source good quality coffee and tea from all over the world and have seen first-hand how the climate crisis and continuing social and economic disruptions affect the most vulnerable farmers and their communities. Increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather conditions, including droughts and floods, adversely impact harvests. Many farms lack good agricultural practices and need to adapt to the changing climate. As a result of low yields, farmers, particularly younger generations, are seeking income elsewhere.
Coffee is grown on over 12.5 million farms across more than 70 countries, and more than 80% of coffee is produced by smallholder farmers. It is this rich diversity of origins that we need to protect to safeguard the future of both coffee & tea. This is reflected in our sourcing strategy and the geographic reach of our Farmer Programme.
The JDE Peet’s Farmer Programme is part of our journey of continuous improvement to boost farmer prosperity, increase biodiversity, and protect the future of the coffee and tea industry.
There is no one-size fits all approach to growing coffee. Each coffee and tea growing region has unique needs. That’s why our projects put farmers and their specific needs at the centre of the work we do. We build relationships and engage with our suppliers and strategic partners to understand and address areas of concern, and drive true measurable impact, directly supporting farming communities with investment, training and resources.
In May 2022 we began a project working with smallholder farmers to help secure the future of coffee in Western Kenya, where farmers face several challenges relating to climate change, access to good quality seedlings and capacity building, resulting in very low outputs. Amidst climate change, new sustainable and regenerative farming practices must be introduced.
We’ve partnered with one of our key suppliers and a farmers cooperative union to train and work with their lead farmers to implement sustainable agriculture practices. By leveraging the great work they are already doing, they can show neighbouring farmers how to improve yields by applying basic agronomy practices, like mulching, improving soil content, and introducing seedling varieties that are climate resistant.
Nadia Hoarau-Mwaura, Sustainability Director at JDE
The agronomy training that we facilitate is geared towards increasing yields and income for farmers, creating employment opportunities for women and young people, and enrolling smallholder farmers in sustainable production. The project has been part-funded by Kenco. Kenco continues to source coffee from Kenya and is committed to supporting the next generation of farmers there.
We have already surpassed our initial target to reach 500,000 smallholder farmers by 2025 with projects that support farmer livelihoods and benefit the planet. We will leverage the success of our Farmer Programme and continue to work with our partners and suppliers to go even further to create positive impacts for farmers and farming communities, to safeguard nature and create a better future for generations to come.
