Registration is now open for the International Coffee Organization‘s 4th Annual Consultative Forum on Coffee Sector Finance, taking place in London on Sept. 23, 2014.
The event’s name may be on the dry side, but its focus is one of the most pressing issues in green coffee supply. Here’s more from the 50-year old industry organization on this year’s event:
Given the current situation facing the global coffee sector, where the income of coffee growers all over the world has plummeted affecting millions of people in thousands of communities, the role of multilateral financial institutions is crucial. The 4th Forum will seek to provide solutions for producing countries to effectively engage with financial multilateral institutions and donors and ensure that financing from those organizations meet the needs of coffee farmers.
The objective is to establish a direct dialogue with financial multilateral institutions, donors, and other actors in the field, to discuss and implement concrete plans for poverty alleviation and wealth creation in rural communities which depend on coffee production.
(related: Sustainable Values Combined with Market Tools: A Future for Specialty Coffee)
The 2013 forum, which took place in in Belo Horizante, Brazil, focused on aggregation issues, resulting in numerous outlines of the restraining forces and driving forces behind farmer aggregation, as well as a list of action items that can be undertaken by numerous groups within the supply chain. See Miguel Zamora’s coverage of that event, and here’s a link to the ICO’s full report.
The theme of this year’s event is “Bridging the Gap Between Farmers and Finance,” including what the ICO describes as “a particular focus on the needs and wellbeing of small and medium-scale producers and local communities in coffee producing areas.”
(related: It’s the Market, Stupid: Why We Need Greater Farm-Level Incentives)
The event is open to ICO Members, NGOs and other nonprofits, financial institutions, development professionals and other people working within the coffee industry. While the list of speakers and presentations has yet to be released, interested parties may register by sending an email to [email protected] with the following information:
- Name
- Organization/Company
- Position/Responsibilities
- Email address
- Phone Number
- Dietary restrictions (lunch will be provided)
Nick Brown
Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.
Comment