Is the future of coffee in peril?
That was one of the questions posed at one of Specialty Coffee Association Expo 2018’s lectures:
Why Coffee For the Next Generation of Farmers? What is Inspiring Them? What More is Needed?
The topic percolated in other lectures at the SCA event as well, and even at the U.S. Barista Championships, where Andrea Allen, of Onyx Coffee Lab in Springdale AR, focused on the topic during her competition.
While coffee, as an agriculture product, is always threatened by pests, fungus, or climate change, it also faces a pending shortage of coffee farmers.
As you can imagine this has huge implications for the second largest commodity in the world.
The SCA was right on the money in its effort to highlight this complex multi-issue concern this year as a critical mass is looming: Where will the next generation of farmers come from?
There is no question: farming coffee is hard work. It’s labor intensive and the pay is low. The benefits, if any, are meager.
This is hardly the stuff that attracts the interest of youth in a modernizing world.
The average age of a coffee farmer is 60 years old. The children of farmers are finding their way to other more lucrative and less menial professions – at the encouragement of their parents.
Additional barriers include lack of credit, stable healthcare, education, infrastructure, and low incentives to share expertise with the younger generation has propelled efforts to change the tide.
Organizations like CoffeeKids.org and other co-ops are working to address these concerns.
The ability to address other topics such as social inclusion within the industry was also discuss and viewed as important.
There were a number of speakers all showcasing their efforts to address each of these concerns, which was encouraging to see (and listen to).
Audience members and other panelists were attentive, collaborative, and interested in hearing solutions.
One solution that needs to be addressed is paying the farmer a higher wage. One audience member stated that the problems farmers face will continue to fester if the prices they are getting for a pound of coffee is the same as they were 40 years ago.
Clearly paying more for coffee will have a direct impact on the farmer and his or her family.
I am optimistic that the SCA will continue to work with professionals in the industry to continually draw attention to the plight of farmers and look for real solutions to address their needs. I think it’s important that the entire retail coffee industry work together to honor, highlight, and demand higher wages and better conditions for coffee farmers.
For more information on the Specialty Coffee Association, visit them here: SCA.COFFEE
Would you be interested in working in the retail coffee industry? There are different opportunities that include being a wholesale coffee roaster, coffee taster, and barista. The good news that you can get a retail coffee job pretty much anywhere they sell coffee. To learn more, consider reading Requirements to be a Barista to get started.
