January 13, 2025
The collaboration will support the Alternative Response Options for Mitigation & Adaptation of Coffee Farms (AROMA) initiative
ARLINGTON, Va. (Jan. 13, 2025) – Conservation International and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) today announced that the GCF has approved a Project Preparation Facility (PPF) grant to support design and development of the Alternative Response Options for Mitigation & Adaptation of Coffee Farms (AROMA) GCF Program.
Once approved, the ~$120 million AROMA program will be implemented over seven years to pursue structural changes across the coffee sector. It will respond to the priorities of participating governments by working with smallholder coffee farmers to better adapt to the impacts of climate change and achieve emissions mitigation outcomes by improving on-farm practices and reducing deforestation from expanding coffee production.
Climate change is affecting coffee production; the sector requires major adaptations to ensure that smallholder livelihoods are protected and diversified. Between now and 2050, it’s estimated that global demand for coffee could double while suitable land for coffee production will be halved due to climate change. The AROMA program will focus on boosting the resilience of coffee communities while mitigating the risk of expanding coffee’s carbon footprint.
The proposed project will work with smallholder coffee farmers in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Uganda. Together, these four countries are home to nearly 20% of the world’s coffee smallholders, and represent ~11% of all coffee production and ~16% of land used for coffee cultivation.
Through AROMA, Conservation International will support coffee-growing communities in each of the four countries to implement more regenerative agriculture techniques and agroforestry-focused production systems; to use diverse, climate-resistant crop varieties; and to build resilience of farming families by ensuring a future supply of high-quality coffee for people around the globe.
“It is of the utmost importance that we support climate adaptation for the growers who make our coffee possible,” said Raina Lang, Senior Director of Sustainable Coffee at Conservation International. “For them to thrive well into the future, it is vital that we connect public and private funding for a shared transformation plan that addresses climate risks and impacts on the farm and reduces deforestation across coffee-growing landscapes.”
AROMA will accelerate this transformation by leveraging Conservation International’s leadership in convening the Sustainable Coffee Challenge. The Challenge, which celebrates its 10-year anniversary this year, is a global, industry-wide coalition of over 120 partners united in a collective vision to make coffee the world’s first sustainable agricultural product. By catalysing place-based investments for governments and industry partners looking to improve the sustainability of critical landscapes and supply sheds, AROMA will be one of multiple innovative mechanisms to deliver on the Challenge’s goal to spur ambitious solutions to transform coffee for the benefit of people and planet.
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About Conservation International: Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, for biodiversity and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples and local communities to help people and nature thrive together. Visit Conservation.org for more, and follow us on Conservation News, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
About the Green Climate Fund: The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a multilateral fund created to make significant, ambitious contributions to the global efforts to combat climate change. GCF contributes to achieving the objectives of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement. In the context of sustainable development, GCF aims to promote a paradigm shift towards low-emission and climate resilient development pathways by providing support to developing countries to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to climate change, while accounting for their needs and supporting particularly those that are vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.
About the Sustainable Coffee Challenge: United in a collective vision to make coffee the world’s first sustainable agricultural product, the Sustainable Coffee Challenge is a vibrant, nimble, and inclusive community of 120+ partners from across the coffee sector. The Challenge convenes, unites and urges the coffee sector and conservation partners to spur ambitious solutions at the pace and scale required to create a nature- and people-positive coffee sector. Learn more about the Sustainable Coffee Challenge and follow the Sustainable Coffee Challenge via LinkedIn.