Focusing on People from 2001 to 2026
In 2001, during the devastating coffee crisis, a group of dedicated European coffee companies decided to cooperate pre-competitively to support resilient coffee farming and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farming families.This is how International Coffee Partners (ICP) was founded. Michael R. Neumann took the initiative back then. The key element from the outset were family businesses sharing the same values and building the core of this new partnership.
"In 1999, I began working towards a joint development initiative, which lead to the foundation of ICP in 2001. The basis was responsible family entrepreneurship on the part of the European shareholders. The aggregation of each individual shareholder’s sustainability efforts into one package offered clear advantages. It is impressive to realize that its entrepreneurial and ethical approach bore fruit for 25 years in 2026. This exemplifies how consistent and collaborative efforts can lead to meaningful holistic change for the benefit of our partners, the smallholder coffee farming communities in Africa and many other countries."
25 years later, ICP has proven that bundling know-how and resources can achieve more. Today, we are a knowledge hub with a track record in effective support of smallholder coffee farming families and their communities. We will remain a reliable partner with a long-term approach contributing to a sustainable transformation of the coffee sector.
In 2026, we are marking 25 years of continued support of smallholder farming families. Since 2001, we have invested 25 Mio € in ICP activities.
"As a partnership built on generational responsibility, we will continue working toward a better future for smallholder coffee farming families around the world. We are aiming for meaningful change for farmers and communities and for responsible and long-lasting growth."
We See People Prosper
The future of coffee farming and farming families depends on their resilience.
We work to understand and adapt to the needs of smallholder farming families. Farmers’ interests are at the center of our project work promoting better farming methods and better livelihoods.
We implement projects on gender, youth, family businesses, farmer organizations, and climate change adaptation. The result is that we see smallholder coffee farming families become more competitive and entrepreneurial, produce more sustainably and we see them prosper.
"Through ICP, we support smallholder coffee farmers as economic actors in a rapidly changing market. In this environment, entrepreneurship is key to ensuring a sustainable future. Entrepreneurship means more than financing. It requires higher productivity, the responsible use of inputs, digitalization, and a constant capacity to innovate. By working across these dimensions, ICP helps farmers shift their mindset - from traditional low-income farming to a more resilient, entrepreneurial business. That shift is one of ICP’s core objectives."
Impact on the Ground
Since 2001, more than 125,700 farming families have been engaged in ICP projects in 13 coffee producing countries.
Our first projects started in Guatemala and Honduras. Peru and Cameroon followed. After some years, we changed from implementing our projects in many different countries to more long-term commitments in a few selected regions. This brought continuity to our project work and helped establishing knowledge within the regions through local partnerships.
Sustainable agricultural practices and diversified production systems at the farm level have supported smallholder families to improve coffee farming. Tools and practices to support adaptation have enhanced the resilience of farming families in the face of changing climate conditions.
Smallholder farmers have been supported in growing additional crops to diversify their production for their own food security and to successfully market their products to generate additional family income and improve their livelihoods. To this end, working towards establishing and professionalizing farmer organizations and cooperatives has turned out crucial as they provide member farmers access to relevant services and competitive markets. Since 2001, ICP has worked with more than 2,700 farmer organizations in its project regions, supporting the establishment of new organizations and the further development of existing ones.
With designated trainings, women and youth have been strengthened to participate in decision-making at all levels. In 2025, 22% of all training participants were young farmers aged 18 to 35, and 45% were women.
"We do not only implement projects. We focus on the families at the centre of our work, looking at their potentials and needs. Together with them and among the ICP shareholders we learn and evolve our approach and our operations. In the future, we will continue to embrace the power to work together. It’s like with coffee: Development and progress are the best when you share them with others."
The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting lockdowns specifically challenged smallholder coffee farming families. Alongside our long-term approach, we supported the farmers by disseminating information on COVID-19 in local languages and provided technical support. It was observed during and after the pandemic that coffee farming families who participated in ICP projects were better able to deal with challenges posed by the pandemic.
Strong Partners and Shared Knowledge
We work together with development agencies, government organizations, local and national organizations, and other international NGOs.
The Austrian Development Agency (ADA) has helped funding our projects in Ethiopia. The Swedish Development Agency (Sida) is our strong public partner for funding all our global projects. Since 2005, Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung (HRNS) is exclusively implementing all our projects, also supporting the setup of local networks.
We openly share our experiences and lessons-learnt with partners and sector actors since we are convinced that cooperation and partnership are indispensable to achieve a better future for the millions of smallholder coffee farming families worldwide.
Over the past 25 years, ICP has shown that collaboration can strengthen farming families and the future of coffee.Discover how our projects work and where we are active today.
Meet Msafiri Kense and Paulina Haonga
Since July 2024, Msafiri Kense (31) and his wife Paulina Haonga (29), smallholder coffee farmers from Mbozi District in Tanzania’s Songwe Region, have been participating in ICP trainings - and the results are remarkable.
Like many smallholder farmers, the family relied on traditional coffee farming practices, locally produced seedlings, and had limited income sources. Through ICP trainings, they adopted Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and strengthened their business planning skills.
They replaced 2,000 traditional coffee trees with improved varieties, expanded their farm to 3 acres with 5,000 coffee trees, scaled up a nursery producing improved coffee seedlings and diversified income by opening a retail shop.
Their coffee production increased from 400 kg to 750 kg of parchment per season, and they sold 90,000 improved coffee seedlings.
Their gross annual income increased nearly tenfold - from USD 891 to USD 8,408.
With this progress, the family was able to buy a motorbike and start a boda boda business, buy three cows, repair their house and pay school fees and cover household and farming costs.
"Our next goals include expanding to 10,000 coffee trees, opening an agro-input shop, and continuing to invest in our children’s education."