16 May 2016

World Fairtrade Challenge – more than 1.8 million coffee lovers join the world’s largest coffee break

From New Zealand to Poland, from South Africa to Spain – between 13 and 15 May coffee lovers in 50 countries across the globe got together and drank a staggering total of more than 5.6 million cups of Fairtrade coffee to show their support for farmers hit by climate change.

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Coffee lovers in 50 countries showed their support for coffee farmers.
Key Visual I-stock Photo, used with permission.

Climate change affects millions of coffee farmers who are among the hardest hit by extreme weather, droughts, floods and crop disease. Unpredictable weather patterns make it challenging for them to grow and harvest their crop, as coffee plants are extremely sensitive to changes in temperature. This means that coffee farmers around the world struggle to grow and sell enough coffee to sustain themselves and their families. "There is a chain on Earth that starts at the bottom where producers are. They are the ones who suffer the consequences of climate change, the ones who get the least help, and carry all of the burden. It’s not fair." says Bayardo Betanco of PRODECOOP Fairtrade Coffee Cooperative in Nicaragua.

"The fantastic response to the World Fairtrade Challenge shows that coffee lovers from all walks of life want to do what they can to help coffee farmers," said Martin Hill, CEO of Fairtrade International. "We’ve had university and school students, work colleagues, retailers, cafes and coffee producers themselves taking part in the challenge. They’ve all sent a strong message to governments and community leaders: we recognize Fairtrade as a way to support coffee farmers facing the effects of climate change."

Fairtrade supports coffee farmers by helping them to access technical knowledge and funds which they can use to successfully adapt to, and mitigate against, the worst effects of climate change. More than 800,000 coffee farmers are part of the Fairtrade system in 30 countries. In 2013–14, they received a total Fairtrade Premium (the extra money they get in addition to the minimum price when selling their coffee on Fairtrade terms), equivalent to more than 49 million Euros. Farmers can, for example, use the Fairtrade Premium to invest in their farms or in training to improve their farming practices. Access to technical knowledge means they can take steps to change the way they farm so that they can adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Consumers have the power to leverage support for coffee farmers – as the more of their crop the farmers sell on Fairtrade terms, the stronger they can benefit. The first-ever World Fairtrade Challenge has shown that small-scale coffee farmers are not alone in their fight against climate change, but have more than 1.8 million supporters raising their cups around the globe.

Learn more about the World Fairtrade Challenge and Fairtrade’s work on climate change.

For further information contact:
Giovanna Schmidt, Media Relations Manager, press@fairtrade.net, +49 172 5416076