Time for change

The price of coffee is volatile, and can fluctuate wildly year to year. Unpredictable weather conditions and susceptibility to disease also present significant challenges to growers. As a result, independent nonprofit organisation Fairtrade says many of the small-scale farmers who supply 80 per cent of total coffee volumes experience reduced yields and are at risk of producing low-quality crops. Due to systemic inequality in coffee trade structures, many also lack the financial and technical capacity to adapt to or mitigate these damaging effects.

To empower disadvantaged producers in developing