Arabica-Canephora: Promoting Sustainability, Equity, and Transparency in the Brazilian Coffee Value Chain
The expansion of agribusiness into forested areas and its impacts on deforestation, biodiversity loss, and human rights violations motivated the European Council to launch the European Union Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR) in 2023. The regulation aims to eliminate deforestation driven by the consumption and production of specific agricultural and industrial commodities. To achieve this, it establishes a set of mandatory due diligence requirements for all operators and traders, ensuring commodities can be traced back to their place of production. This means that companies seeking to enter or expand in international markets such as the European Union must invest in innovative solutions and partnerships to enhance traceability.
Although the negative impacts within the coffee value chain occur mainly on large farms in the so-called agribusiness sector (the largest coffee producers in terms of volume), small producers and SMEs in later stages of the chain must work toward developing better practices to integrate production into more sustainable agri-food systems and meet buyer requirements.
The incorporation of agroecological practices and climate change adaptation measures, the provision of decent working conditions and fair wages for rural workers, the adoption of social and environmental criteria for coffee sourcing, and the use of traceability technologies are examples of best practices necessary to make coffee value chains more sustainable.
It is within this context that the project Arabica-Canephora: Promoting Sustainability, Equity, and Transparency in the Brazilian Coffee Value Chain takes place. Approved under the European Union’s AL-INVEST Verde program, the initiative is led by FGVces in partnership with the Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) and the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA Brazil). The project seeks to promote a sustainable and deforestation-free coffee value chain in Brazil by encouraging the adoption of best practices among small-scale producers and SMEs led by women and youth in the coffee supply chain, integrating digital traceability tools, and engaging other stakeholders to ensure compliance with the EUDR.
FGV São Paulo School of Business Administration (FGV EAESP)
FGV Center for Sustainability Studies (FGVces)
Researcher: Ana Coelho