Small-scale coffee farmers increased their production

Increased production, higher quality and better standard of living. That is the result of a three-year development project in Brazil, which Löfbergs has undertaken. The project involved 500 coffee farmers and their families.

- This is a way for us to contribute to sustainable development for people as well as the environment. It is also about getting future generations to continue farming coffee, says Kathrine Löfberg, Director of Communications at Löfbergs.

The project addressed small-scale coffee farmers that got the help they needed to organize themselves into cooperatives. They learned more about sustainable farming practices and business economics among other things. Now, an evaluation shows that the production increased with 23 per cent in average, and that the quality of the coffee beans improved. That led to the farmers getting better paid, which resulted in a higher standard of living.

- We are now starting a five-year regional project in the same area with 4,000 coffee farmers, says Kathrine Löfberg.

The projects will be carried out in the framework of ICP (International Coffee Partners), an organization that Löfbergs runs together with four other family-owned European coffee companies. The aim is to strengthen the competitiveness of small-scale coffee farmers at the same time as their living conditions improve and the environment is protected.

For more information:
Kathrine Löfberg, Director of Communications, Löfbergs, +46 (0) 54-14 01 20

Caption: Sr. Jesus Lourenáo da Silva is one of the 500 coffee farmers that participated in the project in the São Francisco de Paula region in Brazil. Through the work with helping farmers helping themselves, he has managed to increase his production from 28 bags of coffee to 52 per year.