{"id":29922,"date":"2020-10-26T10:40:56","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T17:40:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/?p=29922"},"modified":"2022-04-09T20:55:52","modified_gmt":"2022-04-10T03:55:52","slug":"blockchain-benefits-coffee-farmers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freshcup.com\/blockchain-benefits-coffee-farmers\/","title":{"rendered":"Blockchain Benefits Coffee Farmers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The high-tech innovation transforms how coffee goes from farm to cup\u2014and ensures growers unprecedented supply chain transparency.<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

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The coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on coffee farmers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As cities went into lockdown and coffee shops and restaurants closed, sales plummeted\u2014and growers feared coffee prices would follow. In coffee-producing regions, 68% of coffee growers cited the price of coffee as one of their biggest worries and 21% called COVID-19 one of the greatest issues facing smallholder farmers, according to research from Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung<\/a>, a German nonprofit organization supporting grassroots projects on coffee farms across the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coffee farmers also struggled with disruptions to the global supply chain as workers contracted COVID-19, processors closed, exports stalled, and farmers lost access to valuable international markets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A burgeoning technology called blockchain could help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The protected digital ledger could provide much-needed transparency that helps everyone from farmers to roasters anticipate and prevent disruptions to the supply chain. Blockchain may also help farmers streamline operations and increase revenues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blockchain serves as a protected digital ledger, according to Alexander D. Barrett, CEO of the data verification firm iFinca. Once information is entered into the platform, it cannot be altered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you write something down on a piece of paper, hand it to someone else who writes something down and it goes to eight more people who all write something down on the same piece of paper,\u201d he explains. \u201cWith blockchain, the tenth person who receives that piece of paper knows that nothing has been changed.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new report, Food for Thought: Mapping the Food and Beverage Supply Chain with Blockchain<\/a>, notes that, \u201cRather than being stored in one place, data is distributed on an open, peer-to-peer network\u2026creating a permanent data log that can easily be tracked and referenced.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blockchain was introduced long before the global coronavirus pandemic took hold. Now, the platforms are helping growers innovate and pivot by sharing data, helping farmers connect directly to shippers, distributors, and retailers, and distributing funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These four companies have created blockchain platforms aimed at supporting coffee growers.<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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FARMER CONNECT<\/a>:<\/strong> farmer connect is an agritech start-up and innovative supply chain technology provider. The farmer connect traceability platform is powered by IBM Blockchain designed to help increase transparency, efficiency, and fairness in the coffee supply chain. Farmers can use the Farmer ID app to prove their identity and income to lenders, increasing access to loans; Farmer Connect also allows growers to store and share information about their products with co-ops, exporters, importers, and traders\u2014all on a safe, secure platform.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top coffee organizations such as The Colombian Coffee Growers Federation<\/a>, Sucafina<\/a>, Yara International<\/a>, and RGC Coffee<\/a> have collaborated on the blockchain solution launched by farmer connect earlier this year.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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farmer connect blockchain platform<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As part of a partnership with J.M. Smucker, farmer connect is being used to trace a single-source coffee brand. Consumers who purchase the Folgers 1850 single-origin Colombian coffee can use the QR code on the packaging to access information about the origin of the beans, roasting dates, shipping ports, and more. farmer connect also provides details about projects such as sustainable agriculture initiatives and other sponsored efforts to support coffee producers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe aim is humanizing each coffee drinker\u2019s relationship with their daily cup,\u201d says David Behrends, head of Sucafina and founder and president of farmer connect, in a press statement. \u201cConsumers now can play an active role in sustainability governance by supporting coffee farmers in developing nations. Through the blockchain and this consumer app, we\u2019re creating a virtuous cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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STARBUCKS<\/a>:<\/strong> In 2019, Starbucks announced a partnership with Microsoft to trace beans from farm to cup\u2014and share that information with consumers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The international coffee company works with 380,000 coffee farms across the globe and blockchain can provide secure data and real-time traceability to consumers who are interested in knowing more about the origins of their coffee beans. Blockchain also benefits farmers by providing details about where their beans go after they leave the farm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a press statement about the innovation, Starbucks quotes Marcel Kadende, a coffee farmer from Kigali, Rwanda, who used blockchain to trace coffee from his farms across the globe to the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rwandan coffee farmer. Photo courtesy of Starbucks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know my coffee left the country,\u201d he says. \u201cAccess to knowledge is powerful\u2026.A farmer who doesn\u2019t know their coffee left the country might not know their coffee is export quality. Knowing your coffee quality as a farmer is important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To ensure that blockchain would benefit the farmers that supplied coffee to Starbucks, Michelle Burns, Starbucks senior vice president of Global Coffee & Tea, says, \u201cWe\u2019re\u2026interviewing coffee farmers in Costa Rica, Colombia and Rwanda, learning more about their stories, their knowledge and their needs in order to determine how digital traceability can best benefit them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starbucks rolled out its blockchain technology tool to consumers in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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GRAINCHAIN<\/a>:<\/strong> Honduran coffee farmers have long struggled with falling prices, lack of investment, and unstable markets; a blockchain-based tool wants to change that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GrainChain uses blockchain to minimize risk and encourage reinvestment in coffee farms in Honduras. The platform includes a digital wallet so farmers in remote regions without access to banks can apply for loans and banks can ensure the capital is applied to projects that improve farming conditions and crops; insurance companies can use tools to automate the underwriting of loans; and exporters use the tool for contracts and settlements. Farmers can also cut out middlemen and sell directly to buyers, increasing their earnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How does GrainChain help farmers in coops like Cooperativa Capucas in Honduras? Felipe Melgar, President of Capucas shares the benefits of our platform for farmers like him: connecting directly with buyers, better prices, allowing him to focus on quality and reinvesting in his farm and helping ensure quality from seed to cup. #levelingtheplayingfield<\/a><\/p>

A post shared by GrainChain<\/a> (@grainchainio) on