December 5, 2023, Today is UN World Soil Day, dedicated to highlighting the importance of soil and water in our agrifood supply chains. This year, we’re focusing on the partnership with Koerintji Barokah Bersama Cooperative (KBBC), Rikolto, and Sucafina, supporting farmers as they create healthier, more profitable, and more sustainable coffee farms.
KBBC has 380 farming partners, of which 46 are women who cultivate coffee on Kerinci in Sumatra. Over 50% of Kerinci is National Park land for the Kerinci Seblat National Park. There isn’t a lot of agricultural land available, so it’s important that farmers are able to maximize productivity while protecting biodiversity and natural resources such as soil and water. Moreover, farmers can benefit from income diversification strategies, such as adopting agroforestry systems, which also contribute to reducing deforestation and soil deterioration.
Rikolto recently conducted a survey of farmers in Jambi, Kerinci, to assess living income. They found that a typical farming household in Kerinci makes €2,363 /year, while the income needed to achieve a decent living is €4,283/ year, leaving a €1,920gap between the average needs of a family each month and the income they generate from their farm and labor
Without the option to expand their farms, how can we support increased incomes for farmers?
KBBC partnered with Sucafina and Rikolto to help farming members access first avocado tree seedlings and later infrastructure for composting coffee waste.
In 2021 and 2022, Sucafina and their clients support the distribution of over 1,600 avocado tree seedlings to KBBC farmers through their Buy 1 Get 1 Tree initiative. For every bag of KBBC coffee purchased in Europe and in 2022, in North America, Sucafina provided the funds to purchase one avocado tree seedling. Rikolto was the on-the-ground implementer, and their work helped increase the 1-year survival rate from 50% in 2021 to 95% in 2022. Avocado trees provide shade for coffee trees and yield their own cash and nutrition crops for families.
At the end of 2022, KBBC members reported that they developed avocado tree nurseries on their farms to be self-sufficient, and they wanted to address another issue they encountered on their farms. They wanted to reduce the environmental pollution and emissions from their coffee waste. About 4.5 kilograms of coffee waste is generated for every kilogram of green coffee produced. This can cause major problems for producers. As Giana, a coffee farmer with KBBC said, “We were confused about where to put our coffee waste. It was to the point where coffee trash is piling up mountains.”
In 2023, a portion of the proceeds from sales of KBBC’s coffee went to fund a composting facility built with Rikolto’s support for KBBC members. In the first year, the facility is able to produce about 7.5 tons of compost. KBBC has also received several goats and will add goat manure to the compost. “Now, thank god, there’s no coffee waste going to waste because now we process it,” Giana says.
Farmers can add this organic compost to their coffee trees to help nourish trees, reduce chemical inputs, and, ultimately, increase yields. Some farmers are even using this compost for other crops, such as chilies and potatoes, this improves their household income and gets them closer to a living income.
Sucafina is proud to support KBBC’s project and purchase their coffee. Working with driven groups like KBBC is a key way that Sucafina has an impact.“Aligning with people who share the same values to address issues of climate change, farmer incomes, and sustainability is essential to creating real change,” says Daniel Shewmaker, Managing Director of Sucafina Indonesia.