The International Coffee Partners (ICP) Annual Report 2020 has been released. While we all struggled with the COVID-19 pandemic, ICP-projects could still reach almost 28,000 smallholder coffee farmer families in 2020 in six regions around the globe with to the situation adapted approaches. As a result of the projects, the average coffee production increased for these families in 2020 by 15% compared to 2019. ICP projects are currently implemented in Indonesia, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Brazil and Honduras by the implementing partner Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung (HRNS).

The report compiles the major achievements and learnings from the projects. In Ethiopia, 83% of the supported smallholder households applied recommended (post-)harvest practices. In Uganda, an increase of coffee yields up to 53% has been recognized and training attendance rate of women was about 41%.
The pre-competitive non-profit organization ICP aims at improving the livelihood situation of smallholder coffee farmer families. During the pandemic all project activities were adapted to the emergency situation and later to the new normal. Re-organizing work in this way helped to keep track and to still maintain most urgent support for smallholder families in the project. The ICP-shareholders Delta Cafés (Portugal), Franck (Croatia), Joh. Johannson (Norway), Lavazza (Italy), Löfbergs (Sweden), Neumann Gruppe (Germany), Paulig (Finland), and Tchibo (Germany) also supported the launch of the third phase of the initiative for coffee&climate in 2020.
“The existing project concepts were adapted to ensure, that the global climate approach is reflected, and learnings can be shared between the regions,” they state in the report.

Smallholder farmer Abebech Mulate summarizes her perspective in the report:
“I am lucky to be part of this project. The support that I have received has
built my capacity and given me the chance to be a role model, led my family
successfully to live an easy and happy life, and enables me to support
others.”
With the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, ICP remains committed to support smallholder families with adapted activities to catch-up with their long-term needs in the face of the crisis. The report gives an overview on the next steps and the role of digitization in this.
The report can be downloaded from the ICP-Website:

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