On 31 October 2016, Edmond Muller explained (on behalf of Progreso) on a national TV broadcast “Koffietijd” the problems that smallholder coffee farmers in Peru face with degrading soils and climate change. Edmond also explained what ProClimate is doing to reverse the land degradation trend and develop alternative management practices. Unfortunately, due to an (unexpected) time cut, the last but most important question was not answered. Namely, what Dutch coffee consumers can do to support sustainable coffee production. So, here the explanation: Just by buying more sustainable produced coffee. How? Most important: Become more conscious about what coffee you are buying. Look at the package or call the retailer or manufacturer and ask what they are doing about sustainability and fair trade. A certification for sustainability can also be an indicator (although it is important to mention that there are also some retailers that support sustainability without having certifications!). Or use sustainable ranking sites such as rankabrand (www.rankabrand.nl/) where also coffee retailers/producers are being assessed. You can see the broadcast here (Dutch spoken): www.koffietijd.nl/koffie-en-cacao-verduurzamen/. If our national government is not defining a common framework for sustainable production, at least let the consumers take a role in this and give industries a push into the right direction.
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