Starbucks is investing $4.2 million more in the Colombian coffee sector. Starbucks press release photo.
Starbucks is supplying a $4.2 million grant that is expected to result in 22 million new arabica coffee trees plus early-growth fertilizer among thousands of farmers in Colombia.
The investment builds upon a $3 million seedling investment Starbucks made in the Colombian coffee sector two years ago.
Involving a strategic partnership with the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) and producers within Starbucks’ C.A.F.E. Practices supply network, the overall investment in the seedling project has reached $7.2 million, and is expected to result in the distribution of 45 million seedlings by September of 2023.
In a press release yesterday, Starbucks refers to farmers who may be affected by the seedling investment as “our farmers.”
Related Reading
- Colombian Leaders Publish 9-Year, $9 Million Roadmap for Coffee Sector: Conpes 4052
- Progressive Colombian Coffee Brands Unite to Form Impact in Medellín
- Starbucks Plans US Nationwide Launch of Clover Vertica Brewer
“Supplying farmers with healthy coffee seedlings and replacing old trees is a critical first step in the long-term success of our farmers and, ultimately, the Colombian coffee industry,” said Starbucks Managing Director and Vice President of Coffee and Cocoa Tim Scharrer.
According to Starbucks, the program will involve field work, the support of the Starbucks Colombia Farmer Support Center located in Manizales and the FNC.
“These programs confirm the great commitment of Starbucks to Colombian coffee growers’ well-being, coffee farming quality and sustainability, and environmental protection,” FNC CEO Roberto Vélez stated in the announcement. “Starbucks is a strategic partner of Colombian coffee and the FNC.”
As of 2017, Starbucks claimed to be the largest single buyer of Colombian arabica green coffee.
Does your coffee business have news to share? Let DCN’s editors know here.
Nick Brown
Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.
Comment