Cost of coffee.indd - RISC

appendix 6: rescue plan
A Coffee Rescue Plan is needed, to bring supply back in line with demand and to support
rural development, so that farmers can earn a decent living from coffee. The plan needs to
bring together the major players in coffee to overcome the current crisis and create a more
stable market.
Within one year, and under the auspices of the ICO, the Rescue Plan should result in:
1 Roaster companies committing to pay a decent price to farmers.
2 Roaster companies trading only in coffee that meets the ICO’s Quality Coffee Scheme
standards.
3 The destruction of at least five million bags, as an immediate measure, to be funded by
consumer governments and roaster companies.
4 The creation of a Diversification Fund to help low productivity farmers create alternative
livelihoods.
5 Roaster companies committing to buy increasing volumes of coffee under Fair Trade
conditions directly from producers. Within one year this should apply to two per cent of their
total volume, with subsequent incremental increases.
The Rescue Plan should be a pilot for a longer-term Commodity Management Initiative to
improve-commodity prices and provide alternative livelihoods for farmers. The outcomes
should include:
1 Producer and consumer country governments establishing mechanisms to correct the
imbalance in supply and demand to ensure reasonable prices to producers. Farmers should
be adequately represented in such schemes.
2 Co-operation between producer governments to stop more commodities from entering the
market than can be sold.
3 Support for producer countries to capture more of the value in their commodity products.
4 Extensive financing from donors to reduce small farmers’ overwhelming dependence on
agricultural commodities.
5 An end to EU and US double standards on agricultural trade that squeeze developing
countries into a narrow range of options.
6 Companies paying a decent price for commodities (above the costs of production).
The Coffee Rescue Plan will only succeed if all participants in the coffee market are actively
involved. The following recommendations include elements of what each group can do to
make it work.
coffee companies
Roaster companies – Kraft, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble and Sara Lee
1 Commit to paying a decent price to farmers.
2 Commit significant resources to tackle the coffee crisis (including a financial contribution to
aid packages that deal with the crisis).
3 Label coffee products on the basis of their quality.
4 Commit to buying increasing volumes of coffee under Fair Trade conditions directly from
producers. Within one year this should apply to two per cent of their total volume, with
significant subsequent incremental increases to be determined annually by the Fair Trade
movement.
5 Lobby the US government to rejoin the ICO.
6 Adopt clear and independently verifiable commitments to respect the rights of migrant and
seasonal workers, including respect for ILO conventions.
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