Building a thriving coffee economy

BUILDING A THRIVING COFFEE ECONOMY A practical guide to successful stakeholder cooperation through a national sustainability curriculum.

Brazil | Tanzania |UGANDA | VIETNAM

Contents

Foreword

I

1 Contents

21 UGANDA

2 Foreword

22

1. The NSC in Uganda

3 Introduction

22

2. The Change

3

what is a nsc?

23

3. The Process

3

OUR vision for NSCs

25

4. The Challenges

4

WHY Create a NSC?

25

5. The Learning Points

4

HOW TO USE THIS BOOKLET

27 VIETNAM

5

THE SCP AND THE IDH

28

1. The NSC in Vietnam

7

Overview of INCLUDED countries

28

2. The Change

29

3. The Process

9 BRAZIL 10

1. The NSC AS THE CSC in BRAZIL

32

4. The Challenges

10

2. The Change

32

5. The Learning Points

11

3. The Process

33

Concluding Remarks

13

4. The Challenges

34

Next Steps in Coffee Sector Collaboration

13

5. The Learning Points

35 Acknowledgements

15 TANZANIA

35 Colophon

16

1. The NSC in TANZANIA

36 Contact

16

2. The Change

17

3. The Process

19

4. The Challenges

19

5. The Learning Points

t all started in 2013 with an ambitious idea from a small group of dedicated people at IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative. We saw the resources being wasted on contradictory farmer training and realized there had to be a better way.

The question was clear: how could we improve the impact of training efforts? What if we were to align all relevant partners in coffee producing countries in order to create standardized and endorsed materials, fit to tackle the most dominant sustainability challenges? This was the beginning of our vision. Our search for answers paved the way for a new local approach to sustainable coffee production.

The creation of new platforms began by building upon successes achieved over years of publicprivate investments from NGOs, governments, and companies in sustainable coffee. These earlier successes had created a growing awareness of the challenges in coffee regions.

Now, governments and local authorities are sitting together around the table with national and international industry representatives, and local NGO’s, to determine common ground for sector-and country specific improvement priorities.

The NSC is a game changer, driving towards real sector-wide impact.

But the initiative is still a work in progress. In many countries, the alignment has only just begun. Expectations are high, yet the results are still to come.

Trials in four countries with diverse local coffee sectors show the NSC is rapidly gaining traction. It is an inspirational, workable model for replacing fragmented and suboptimal farmer training with a flexible, locally relevant set of materials. This potential for real success has made the NSC a standard for future investment.

These new investments will create opportunities to transform the sector as a whole.

We’d like to share our experiences and insights in the development process of NSCs so you may carry on the work, creating sustainable training curricula of your own. I trust this booklet will add to the effective scaling of farmer training in the coffee sector. We hope you will benefit from the concrete examples of our case studies, the challenges we faced, and the practical expertise we have gained.

This common improvement base synthesizes insights into fragmented capacities and activities on the ground. The target result is a neutral (not commercially biased) common approach to farmer training, which aims to accelerate the up-scaling of sustainable coffee production. The concept blends state-of-theart agronomical insights with the requirements of international standards, adapted to local improvement priorities. We’ve labeled this farmer training curriculum the National Sustainability Curriculum (NSC).

Successful stakeholder cooperation through a national sustainability curriculum.

TED VAN DER PUT Member of the Executive Board IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative

2

Introduction what is a nsc?

OUR vision for NSCs

WHY Create a NSC?

HOW TO USE THIS BOOKLET

Demand for sustainably produced coffee is growing globally: but in many coffee-producing countries farmers do not have the knowledge or opportunity to deliver certifiably sustainable crops. Additionally, many of the training materials developed in producing countries are fragmented in their message to farmers. A National Sustainability Curriculum (NSC) aims to provide a locally relevant framework within which sustainability issues can be resolved.

NSCs are a fundamental element of the Sustainable Coffee Program’s (SCP) approach to globalizing sustainable production. Our mission is to convene major stakeholders and initiatives in the coffee sector, bringing projects and strategies together under the banner of a worldwide sustainability agenda.

The NSC is a perfect tool for this mission. Its ability to link to existing national structures and certifications ensures the interests of all parties are addressed. By tailoring NSCs to the unique issues faced on the ground, we can empower the design of strategies created on a national level, but geared for the global market.

Existing curricula often fail to take countryspecific priorities for sustainable production into account. The NSC’s unique ability to target nationally relevant issues makes it the obvious choice for change-drivers. By adapting to the needs and coffee sector policy of each country, the NSC has a much greater chance of inspiring commitment from local stakeholders, and delivering farmer training that works.

This booklet will show how NSCs have been created and applied in four major coffee producing regions: Brazil, Tanzania, Uganda, and Vietnam. It reveals how lessons learned from these regions can be used for a more efficient process of NSC development in coffee producing countries.

A NSC identifies and facilitates regional priorities for achieving a healthy coffee sector.

It can work with existing schemes and standards for sustainable production. Because it is not a pre-ordained document, and does not impose global standards on individual areas, the NSC is capable of adapting to meet local conditions entirely. It can draw up a single prescription for the sustainability practices needed in a particular area (as is the case with the NSC for Tanzania), or serve as a useful addition to the materials that are already in place (as in Brazil and Vietnam).

The SCP created this booklet to highlight the progress of developing NSCs in Brazil,Tanzania, Uganda and Vietnam. By examining the challenges faced during the process, the co-operative solutions put in place, and the responses to those solutions, we show how globalized strategies are adapted to drive change and build a thriving coffee economy.

•

•

•

Agreed roles trade & industry

National Authorities

National coffee sector sustainability issues

(Inter)national industry. trade & standards

Clear national issue definition endorsed by key local stakeholders: National Sustainability Focus

Targeted capacity building agreed by public & private extentionists: National Sustainability Curriculum

Agreed roles implementers

Farmer training targeting national sustainability issues

Working with farmers: the NSC seeks to form the base for training materials and methodology. It facilitates the progress forward of certification or verification to relevant standards or schemes. Farmers trained under an NSC can choose to apply for these standards if it fits their commercial interests.

Working with institutions: the NSC is intended to be a formally endorsed document. It is a crucial means to build capacity in extension services, increasing their effectiveness at lower costs.

Working with countries: the NSC has potential for a wider national scope. It functions as an umbrella document, around priorities identified by public and private stakeholders, pulling together curricula on key topics such as climate change, environmental impact, nutrition and gender equality. This comprehensive material both incorporates and creates national strategies for better farming.

The mood in the four diverse coffee producing countries trialing NSC development is optimistic, and expectations for the success of NSCs are high. In all four countries, there is confidence that the share of sustainable coffee production will increase substantially.

Farmers using the curriculum are expected to achieve higher productivity and improve their livelihoods. At the SCP, we believe this success can inspire other countries to adopt NSCs.

Agreed roles government

3

The content of this booklet is structured into four case studies. Each study examines the process of creating a NSC. Every NSC experiences its own challenges, and each study illustrates different potential solutions to problems of ownership, commitment, and developing consensus.

The studies and countries are different, but as they progress they reveal a process. This process is what sets the NSC concept apart: it defines and informs the creation of a NSC globally, but it can also be used to tailor the individual training curriculum to a specific local environment.

Developmental stages in each country are tracked in the case studies, through step-bystep descriptions of sector-specific solutions.

The overarching NSC process is explored in the “Concluding Remarks” section, which you will find after the four case studies.

This section is crucial. Use it to understand the key stages in NSC development, and the global goals that tie your own NSC to the larger sustainability agenda.

By using the booklet, you can develop a toolkit for change. It is a platform, from which you can start strategizing ways to convene stakeholders, and reach an agreement on content. It is your manual for creating a better training curriculum.

Successful stakeholder cooperation through a national sustainability curriculum.

4

THE SCP AND THE IDH The Sustainable Coffee Program (SCP) is a mainstream public-private consortium, which aims to bring global sustainable coffee production and sourcing practices within reach of all farmers, large and small. Our key objectives are to: •

Align stakeholder investments in producer support programs

•

Improve farmer livelihoods while preserving natural resources

•

Enable coffee producers to become more resilient in ever-changing markets.

We focus on meeting national sector needs by linking to existing institutions, facilitating the creation of innovative sustainability protocols that answer the needs of governments and farmers.

IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, promotes sustainable trade in a number of sectors, including coffee, cocoa, tea and cotton. To achieve this objective, IDH builds results-oriented, pre-competitive coalitions of companies, governments, and civil society organizations.

IDH puts its weight behind the SCP, recognizing and promoting its ability to convene complementary powers and leverage influential networks, financial resources, and the specialized knowledge of different stakeholders. Through a championship of NSCs, IDH helps prioritize key sustainability issues on a national level, and develop strategies to solve them.

Successful stakeholder cooperation through a national sustainability curriculum.

5

Successful stakeholder cooperation through a national sustainability curriculum.

6

Overview of INCLUDED countries

BRAZIL

TANZANIA

UGANDA

VIETNAM

3%

10%

17%

3%

COFFEE AS a % of TOTAL EXPORT revenue

COFFEE AS a % of TOTAL EXPORT revenue

Total COFFEE EXPORT ( MILLIONS OF 6okg BAGS )

Total COFFEE EXPORT ( MILLIONS OF 6okg BAGS )

Sustainable Sales AS % OF TOTAL EXPORT

45,5

1,0

4,0

27,5

12%

15%

2%

9%

20%

Robusta

95%

30%

90%

VS Arabica

Sustainable Sales AS % OF TOTAL EXPORT

Robusta VS

80%

70%

5%

10%

Arabica

Number of Farmers ( million )

Number of Farmers ( million )

0,3

0,8

1,7

0,5 Sources: USDA; Technoserve Analysis, 2012 International Coffee Organization, April 2015 International Trade Center, 2011

Case study:

BRAZIL Brazil is the largest coffee producer and exporter in the world, and the second largest consumer.

280K There are 280,000 farms with an average size of 7.3 hectares.

#1 Brazil is a frontrunner in sustainable coffee production.

Export production of sustainable coffees is however concentrated in mid- and large-sized farms.

the “ During process,

stakeholders learned about each other’s visions and beliefs.

“

#1

1. The NSC AS THE CSC in BRAZIL

2. The Change

Brazil has been the largest coffee producer in the world since the 1860s. The country is also taking the lead in sustainable coffee production today. However, due to rising costs and falling Arabica prices, smallholder farmers struggle to break even.

•

The CSC is highly relevant for Brazil.

The SCP national coordinator for Brazil explains that the smallholder farmers need encouragement and support in their path to competitiveness. They need to realize that more sustainable coffee production leads to higher productivity and profit, and decreasing social and environmental impact.

With higher profits, certification standards can become affordable.

•

The CSC is not a certification scheme. It focuses on content that can aid sustainable coffee production, firstly via higher productivity and reduced costs. And, secondly, via certification schemes.

•

An additional benefit of the CSC is improved cooperation in the sector. As the national coordinator explains: ‘During the process, stakeholders learned about each other ’s visions and beliefs, resulting in better relationships, as well as increasing awareness on the subject of sustainability’.

The NSC is important to ensure sustainable coffee production for smaller producers. In Brazil it has been renamed the Coffee Sustainability Curriculum (CSC).The curriculum is based on PICafé (a voluntary national certification standard), and focuses on increasing productivity, lowering costs and improving quality.

The development process of the CSC was extensive, with a great deal of discussion between different stakeholders. Together, they created a very useful document, endorsed by the whole sector and all major authorities.

The process resulted in better relationships, as well as increasing awareness on the subject of sustainability.

$ Most farms are not large enough for mechanization and economies of scale. Due to restrictive environmental and labor laws, as well as rising costs and falling Arabica prices, they struggle to increase and maintain competitiveness.

ORGANIZED Brazil has an organized coffee chain, with strong institutions, a developed research structure, and a class of professional and high productivity coffee growers.

Successful stakeholder cooperation through a national sustainability curriculum.

10

3. The Process Evaluate the feasibility of PI-Café

The Last Steps

It is easier to implement a new curriculum when it fits into existing certification schemes, or curricula following already approved institutional processes.

The headquarters of one of the main extension services in the country was selected as the right place to conduct the launch event. The national coordinator: ‘During the event and workshop all our hard work was rewarded: the CSC was officially released with full support from participants’. The five extension services were present, as well as other important stakeholders and institutions. The document was published and distributed to extension service agencies as well as all stakeholders.

In Brazil, PI-Café (Integrated Coffee Production) was officially released by the Ministry of Agriculture as a voluntary national certification standard.

The first step in creating the new CSC was to evaluate the feasibility and role of PI-Café as a national curriculum for sustainable coffee production. The Brazil Working Group (BWG), which technically advises the whole process (funded by the SCP), concluded PI-Café could function as a good baseline for the CSC curriculum.

As a result of this process, political engagement increased and curriculum discussions moved up from a technical to a decisionmaking level.

The main verification/certification standards active in Brazil evaluated PI-Café, and made suggestions to improve it. Suggestions included removing the certification items, making PI-Café more objective where possible, and including important missing items when necessary.

The national coordinator: ‘I think the CSC evolved into a highly relevant curriculum, aligned with PI-Café and other internationally recognized standards’. After implementing the Curriculum, farmers can decide for themselves if they want to apply for verification/ certification, and select the accreditation scheme they prefer.

The national coordinator explains: ‘One of the key suggestions was to develop the complementary Training-of-Trainers project and create an Implementation Guide to facilitate its adoption’.

Create Ownership

Training-of-Trainers

Key stakeholders were also involved in the process in order to gather contributions, improve the quality of the content, and ensure ownership of the curriculum. 19 institutions, including State Extension Services and the main coffee business trade associations, collaborated during the process.

The CSC contains ‘what’ the coffee grower needs to do to become sustainable. The extension services and other institutions will train their technicians in the practices of the CSC using the Implementation Guide.

This guide is a manual on “how” to implement the CSC, and is designed to accelerate the adoption of the curriculum. It teaches technicians how to implement each and every topic included in the CSC, as they assist farmers to increase sustainable coffee production.

The national coordinator: ‘We held several preparatory meetings to debate, generate awareness, and develop ownership in extension services from the main coffee producing states’.

During the first workshop, participants discussed a CSC draft document. Every stakeholder that participated had a month to discuss the content internally and send suggestions. It took longer than expected to receive all the feedback and to organize the received information. A careful revision process took place due to the complexity of the document and to ensure the proper definition of the terms. Another version of the document was shared with all participants before the launch event. Feedback was incorporated and the final version of the CSC was prepared.

Besides the Implementation Guide, the Training of Trainers program includes a Training Module. The module incorporates supporting materials such as videos, presentations and coffee growers’ awareness activities. The goal is that the technical assistance conducted by state extension services, cooperatives, and other institutions, addresses not only agronomic or productive components, but also the sustainability content (CSC). The aim is to reach as many farmers as possible, and make this well conceived and developed idea a major success.

4. The Challenges

No price premium

Initially, many stakeholders resisted the CSC. They perceived it as just one more certification standard. As the national coordinator points out: ‘The challenge is to clarify its real purposes and to explain that it actually is a document that prepares farmers for all the other certifications’.

The reward of price premiums used to be the benefit that encouraged people to join the sustainability/certification process.

These benefits helped to pay the high costs of sustainable farming practices. They have now diminished or disappeared. CSC is focusing on finding other benefits, including increased productivity, higher quality, lower production costs, and improved farm management.

Commitment

Certification is expensive

Some extension services and institutions have their own agenda and are unwilling to accept and adopt the content of the CSC. They prefer to use their own materials. The states that have been less involved in sustainability practices were more open to accepting the CSC, and turned out to be the most committed.

The national coordinator explains: ‘Certification as a consequence of the curriculum may be a lever regarding market access. However, in these uncertain ‘coffee price times’, individual certification is too expensive, especially for smaller farms’. Group certification results in economies of scale since not all farmers need to be audited separately. However, the farmer may have to sacrifice their flexibility to shift between exporters and other aggregators. In addition, the group is typically organized by those interested in buying the product.

A certification standard

People involved in the Working Group, as well as the meetings, workshops, and general development process, had different opinions and agendas. It was also a challenge for these busy people to make time for the development of the CSC.

Political issues Due to the 2014 elections, a considerable number of federal and state level positions and institutions were replaced. These included extension services managers. Each change demanded a restart of the CSC articulation and persuasion process.

Traditional practices Initially, farmers and state extensionists were not aware of the sustainability practices included in the curriculum. And they had yet to be convinced of the benefits of such a curriculum.

The national coordinator: ‘They tend to stick with known and traditional practices and are not convinced about the benefits of the CSC’.

5. The Learning Points Discuss every detail Many stakeholders are involved. They all have their own views and ideas. To find agreement on all levels, it takes planning. You need time to discuss.

Take politics into account In a process like this, unexpected events always occur. It is important to deal with these carefully, in a way that allows the process to continue.

Politics is key.

Explain the benefits To convince farmers of the relevance of this CSC, it’s crucial to explain the benefits clearly, with reference to potential future gains.

13

Case study:

TANZANIA Tanzania is the 4th largest coffee producing country in Africa.

450k There are 450,000 smallholder coffee farmers.

8% Only 8 percent of coffee export is sustainable. This number rises to 15 percent if sustainable organic coffee is also included.

!

NSC Tanzania is not an SCP focus country, but there is unique momentum for the NSC backed by strong engagement of the Tanzanian stakeholders themselves.

In Tanzania, coffee farmers are poor and do not have a great deal of knowledge about good (sustainable) agricultural practices. The National Sustainability Curriculum (NSC) can lead to a huge increase in yields and productivity.

“

The NSC will harmonize everything.

The whole country will use the same coffee extension materials.

“

#4

There is great momentum for the Tanzanian NSC. The government understands the need for the growth of sustainable coffee exports. It feels the urge to meet international sustainability standards, since this will make traditional markets in Europe more accessible.

•

He continues: ‘This document will speak with authority to intended users and this will increase acceptability. It is drawn from many existing private and government manuals.

Its goals are quantifiable and measurable over time, hence it will be easier to evaluate impact and make adjustments where needed’.

•

The representative of a private company concludes: ‘This NSC is a successful example of a public-private partnership.

Savings across the coffee industry will be made by eliminating the individual efforts of various actors involved in coffee farming and services delivery, as well as the regulatory matrix from the government. All will now have a single authoritative document to draw from’.

Tanzania has taken advantage of the development of the NSC in Uganda. There are similarities between the two sectors, and this has accelerated the development of the curriculum. However, the NSC process only began in Tanzania at the end of 2014. As a private company stakeholder notes:

The NSC is a work in progress. In the future, coffee production and livelihoods of farmers will be improved through the curriculum.

2. The Change •

REGIONS Farmers are hard to reach as they live in different peripheral regions.

materials. One stakeholder explains: ‘From the perspective of farmers, different materials are confusing. The NSC will harmonize everything. The whole country will use the same coffee extension materials’.

1. The NSC in TANZANIA

•

The NSC can have an enormous impact on the coffee sector in Tanzania. Farmers are not well educated in sustainable agricultural practices. After finishing the training, they will benefit substantially in terms of productivity and yields.

The NSC will strengthen extension services and provide extension workers with a baseline document aligned with existing

Successful stakeholder cooperation through a national sustainability curriculum.

16

Contents of the NSC

3. The Process

The NSC covers subjects including:

The Working Group The development of the NSC is guided by the Sustainable Coffee Steering Committee Working Group (SCWG).

This group has its origins in the existing National Coffee Stakeholder Committee. The NCSC is a steering committee of public and private coffee sector representatives at a national level. It is chaired by the Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB), which is part of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives (MAFC). The national coordinator in Tanzania, working for Café Africa, guides the whole process.

Other important partners in the development process include the Prime Minister’s Office Regional Administration and the Local Government (PMO-RALG), which is responsible for extension services, as well as the Tanzania Coffee Research Institute (TaCRI), and involved companies.

•

Nursery management

•

Establishing a coffee farm

•

Soil management

•

Tree management

•

Pests and diseases

•

Post-harvest handling

Modules on specific sustainability issues, including environmental and social issues, are also included in the curriculum. The modules on sustainability matters are the most crucial to Tanzania. The NSC by design is not linked directly to any sustainability standard.

The development process cost time and money due to travel and daily expenses. A representative from a small company noted: ‘We faced budgetary constraints, but we can thank a few of the stronger private companies for lending a hand’.

These constraints, however, also accelerated the process. The limited budget and short timeframe pushed the stakeholders to develop the manual in a cost-effective way in the quickest time possible.

After the preparation of all content, institutions from the public and private sector will comment on the document, support field-testing and deliver additional input.

The national coordinator: ‘During the development of the NSC, the TaCRI research institute plays a major role, since it provides fundamental technological knowledge’. Because of this, the Ministry of Agriculture (MAFC), PMO-RALG and the TaCRI need to approve the contents of the NSC before the sector accepts the curriculum.

Developing Materials

Consulting Stakeholders

Implementing the NSC

Establishing the working group was not as easy as expected. As one private stakeholder explained: ‘It is a challenge to be as representative as possible when forming the steering committee. We think that it is imperative that the government and the various players in the coffee chain feel adequately represented in the ‘think-tank’ committees, so at the end of the day they can feel they own the extension materials’

Stakeholders met in each of the eight production zones. They were regularly informed about the development of the NSC, and the voluntary sustainability standards, in order to enhance understanding.

To disseminate the NSC, copies will be distributed to the extension services, both public and private, in the major production zones.

When the working group was ready, consultants started preparation of a set of harmonized extension materials. These combine existing national guidelines with training materials used by cooperatives, NGO’s and private sector organizations.

These consultations are intended to generate ideas from users, and to inform them of developments. First, they canvass for the most pressing issues and solutions from the stakeholder’s point of view. Users of the training curriculum are then provided with recommendations, and dialogue with them continues as consultations progress towards the final manual.

The NSC concept was introduced at the National Coffee Conference (NCC) to inform the sector ahead of this implementation. It was also presented at Zonal Stakeholder Committees in eight production zones.

A Training-of-Trainers module will be developed, and distributed in the major production districts.

One stakeholder emphasizes: ‘It is important that the materials are presented in the simplest way, as many smallholder farmers in Tanzania have not received much formal education’.

4. The Challenges Dispersion In Tanzania a major obstacle is the large distance between the parties involved. The farmers are dispersed over the country, in peripheral regions with little interconnectivity.

The national coordinator explains: ‘The relevant institutions are in the main cities Dar es Salaam, Moshi and Dodoma, far away from the farmers in the south and west. So farmer and institutional representatives have to travel long distances to participate in meetings’.

However, it is worth the effort, since face-toface contact is essential to create ownership and to convince stakeholders of the relevance of the NSC.

Commitment Some stakeholders showed little interest in the NSC at first. A coffee exporter described how they were initially unable to get representatives from smallholder farmers, and the coffee cooperative leadership was not interested: ‘I think they felt that it was yet another short term donor-funded project, which will be closed after a few years before making any noticeable impacts’.

It took time and effort to convince stakeholders of the importance of the NSC. The national coordinator explains that, in the end: ‘on a local level, stakeholders [became] very interested in the NSC, with high levels of participation in the stakeholder consultations.’

these problems by expanding membership in the steering committee through intensive personal lobbying’.

5. The Learning Points Finding ownership It is very important to find consensus and create ownership. Face-to-face contact is essential. Traveling all over the country to meet stakeholders is time consuming but worth the effort.

Creating content Although 80 percent of the content of the NSC already exists in other guidelines, all stakeholders wish to formulate the curriculum in their own way and define the NSC for themselves. Therefore it takes time to create one comprehensive document.

Defining projects Uganda’s NSC is a good example for Tanzania.

The same steps can be followed and the timeline is quite similar. However, it’s important to define each project on its own merits.

Tanzania’s geographical challenges ask for some adaptations.

Using people In the end you only need a few dedicated people to produce a solid reference document.

A working group of six motivated people from the public and the private sector can be enough to create an excellent NSC resource.

Other Priorities A few stakeholders were initially too busy to travel far, and reluctant to contribute to documents that are technical and difficult to read. As one exporter who was interviewed pointed out: ‘Most of the intended resource persons were reluctant to join the ‘think tank’ as they had full-time employment. We overcame

19

Case study:

UGANDA Uganda is the second largest coffee producer in Africa.

1.3m There are 1.3 million coffee farmers farming less than 0.25 hectares, on average.

2% Only 2 percent of Uganda’s coffee export is currently sustainable.

2x There is a huge potential for the NSC in Uganda. Farmers might even double their income if they adopt the right sustainability practices.

$ Uganda just recovered from wilt disease and suffered for years from poor coffee prices.

“ The emphasis on

sustainable, environmental and social issues is what makes the curriculum unique.

“

#2

1. The NSC in Uganda The National Sustainability Curriculum (NSC) in Uganda is an enormous opportunity for smallholder farmers, and the coffee sector as a whole. Coffee is the largest export product of Uganda, and many farmers depend on the industry for their income. They need to learn sustainable farming practices in order to improve their livelihoods and modernize the sector. The NSC is the helping hand they are waiting for.

•

A member of the Steering Committee comments: ‘Many farmers are happy with this curriculum. They are very interested because this NSC covers all relevant topics.

It is accessible because of the pictorial presentation. Even more important is the availability of the NSC in local languages.

The NSC could be a great solution for other commodities as well’.

•

The national coordinator adds: ‘A major strength of the NSC is adaptation to national contexts’. He further explains that the focus in Uganda is primarily on reducing costs and investing in sustainable farming practices, and that it’s only then that investments in certification for sustainable coffee standards are seen as justified.

•

The NSC plays a major role in strengthening the delivery of extension services to farmers.

It also supports national institutions in setting and maintaining minimum standards for these services. The national coordinator points out that this renewed attention for extension services is a big advantage of the NSC. For years, extensionists have been underfunded and unable to reach many farmers.

•

A final important benefit mentioned by the national coordinator is the improved cooperation of public and private stakeholders: ‘They had to work together to create this NSC. The process leads to mutual understanding’.

One member of the Ugandan National Steering Committee explains: ‘The emphasis on sustainable, environmental, and social issues is what makes the curriculum unique. Farmers are looking forward to the training materials’.

In the past, Uganda has suffered from a confusing multitude of approaches and training materials. The NSC is trying to bring symmetry to the country, and to harmonize all materials in an incremental way. The Steering Committee aims to supplement existing materials, not to reinvent the wheel (leaving the NSC standing alone). Its aim is to operate in line with other initiatives, incorporating the NSC into the public extension system with the same sustainability agenda.

2. The Change •

This NSC is extremely beneficial for the Ugandan coffee sector. The national coordinator for SCP in Uganda says: “There is potential for a huge increase in yields and consequently a large-scale improvement to the livelihoods of farmers. The NSC teaches farmers to optimize investments and management practices. We believe that can result in an enormously positive impact on the sustainability of coffee production’.

Successful stakeholder cooperation through a national sustainability curriculum.

22

3. The Process

The Working Group To develop the NSC, a sub-group of the National Steering Committee was established.

This committee originates in the National Coffee Platform.

Many stakeholders were represented in the sub-group, including: the Ministry of Agriculture (MAAIF), the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA), Agribusiness Initiative Trust (aBi Trust), the National Coffee Research Institute (CORI), the Uganda Coffee Federation (UCFA), the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS), NuCafe, UNADA, and Café Africa, as well as exporters and standards organizations. The national coordinator of Café Africa led the development process. The creation of the materials was funded by aBi Trust together with the SCP.

Developing materials Consultants from UCDA and NaCORI worked together with graphic designers to create posters, texts, and a trainer’s guide. During this process they decided that more materials about environment, climate change, and social responsibility should be incorporated.

To provide this information, the Sustainability Working Group joined the team. This group consists of the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA), and the Uganda Coffee Federation. Multiple meetings were held, funded by the SCP, which included representatives from the major standards organizations.

The national coordinator: ‘They looked at the requirements of the different standards to determine which elements are relevant and feasible for the Ugandan smallholder coffee farmer’.

Training-of-Trainers A ToT module was developed to train the extension workers.

Pilot District Extension Scheme An SCP-funded pilot district extension project was designed.

The national coordinator says: ‘We trained 30 agronomists in each of the six pilot districts to become trainers in sustainable coffee production, based on the new extension materials’.

To plan the selection of trainers and trainees, the National Steering Committee organized meetings with the authorities and coffee stakeholders in all Uganda’s coffee producing districts.

The national coordinator explains: ‘Through this module they [extension workers] learn to effectively teach farmers the sustainable practices of the NSC’.

After an initial meeting of trainers from all six districts, the ToT trainings were held for two days a month, over a nine-month period.

After this, an exam was given. The trainees who passed received a certificate to show they qualified as trainers in sustainable coffee production.

The national coordinator: ‘The certificate will motivate the extension workers and give them more authority and respect’.

Consulting Stakeholders

Contents of the NSC

Disseminating the NSC

In order to create the curriculum, numerous stakeholders were consulted.

The national coordinator explains:

The NSC covers eight topics:

The districts themselves select both the trainers and trainees. SCP supported this by developing selection criteria and methodology. The materials are hosted on the Café Africa website: http:// www.cafeafrica.org.

‘To initiate the design of the extension materials, we organized a general meeting in Kampala. There was opportunity for all the parties involved to speak out, deliver input, and find agreement on the topics to be included’.

One stakeholder commented: ‘Especially in the beginning it is important to meet each other and to share information to build commitment. Later on in the process, it is easier and faster to work online’.

•

Establishment of a coffee farm

•

Management of a coffee farm

•

Main pests of coffee

•

Main diseases of coffee

•

Harvesting and post-harvest handling

A thousand sets of posters and training guides will be produced for distribution to MAAIF, UCDA, NaCORI, and for the pilot district extension project. Each of the six districts will establish a library to store sets of extension materials and other useful training curricula. With funding from IDH, extension videos on six topics (establishment of a nursery, wet processing, traditional pest control, pruning and stumping, dry processing and group formation) will be produced and finalized.

•

Coffee farming as a business

A member of the Steering Committee explains:

•

Environment and climate change

•

Social responsibility

‘With the NSC, many farmers will be reached because different local organizations are printing and sharing the curriculum in their own local languages’.

There are three formats of the materials: 50 charts which are pictorial with only a few words, 50 posters with text and some photographs, and a more detailed trainer’s guide.

The national coordinator concludes: ‘The NSC is owned by the government to ensure continuity. If the pilot extension scheme is a success, and government funding is available, we hope to roll out the NSC to other districts. It will be a basis for a new extension approach for Uganda’.

4. The Challenges Dispersion

respect for the Uganda Coffee Platform in which all parties come together. They tend to follow the recommendations of the platform’.

One of the biggest challenges to the development process was the dispersion and disorganization of farmers. The national coordinator explains: ‘It is very costly and time consuming to reach them, although very necessary in order to create ownership’.

Alignment Compiling and harmonizing all the stakeholders’ existing extension materials was time consuming. One stakeholder explains: ‘Various versions were made. It was hard to align them since most stakeholders were not present in all meetings, but they all had to agree on the documents’.

It took 24 months to develop the NSC. But now there is a highly endorsed document, and all stakeholders are looking forward to implementing the curriculum.

This curriculum is a catalyst for change. It is important that we realize this.

Ownership Initially, there was a great deal of discussion in the public and private sector regarding the contents and the practical implementation of the NSC. The national coordinator states: ‘It took a lot of time to find agreement but these discussions are important to create ownership with all stakeholders’.

One stakeholder adds: ‘It was a difficult process but we realized at an early stage that a unified, harmonized approach by public and private stakeholders is essential. All stakeholders have

5. The Learning Points Invest time Maximizing ownership and commitment takes time. It is important to discuss all details of the NSC in order to find agreement on all levels.

The national coordinator affirms: ‘Establishing shared ownership has been a crucial part of the process. This is essential to create commitment and motivation and to effectively execute the project’.

Strengthen extension Implementation of the NSC is just as crucial as the preceding development process. As the national coordinator notes: ‘It is a practical document designed for use by extension workers’.

A little help Farmers believe in the NSC. The curriculum is a catalyst for change. It is vital that stakeholders are encouraged to realize this.

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Successful stakeholder cooperation through a national sustainability curriculum.

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Case study:

VIETNAM Vietnam is the 2nd largest coffee producer worldwide.

500K There are over 500,000 coffee farmers with an average farm size of 1.17 hectares.

50% More than 50 percent of all coffee production is certified or verified, the majority against the 4C standard.

NSC can “ The be a bible for the coffee sector.

“

#2

1. The NSC in Vietnam

•

Because of the NSC, farmers know which training materials can be used to meet Vietnamese sustainability requirements. To know which materials are aligned with, and confirmed by, the many different parties is enormously beneficial for all stakeholders involved. As an expert from the government explains: ‘The NSC is especially beneficial for technicians, extensionists, and coffee companies. Although farmers are more difficult to convince, they will also see how useful the curriculum will be’.

•

The curriculum functions as a reference document for sustainable farming practices.

Or, as one private stakeholder put it, ‘The NSC can be a bible for the coffee sector ’.

Vietnam made a fast and relatively easy conversion to sustainable coffee production. In the pursuit of volume leadership, the country invested in numerous good (sustainable) agricultural practices.

However, farmers still need to improve sustainable production techniques, mainly to answer issues of water and agrochemical use.

Various parties offer training materials in Vietnam, so the National Sustainability Curriculum (NSC) functions as a reference document. It brings all other materials together and provides a focus on sustainability issues.

The development process of the NSC in Vietnam was enduring, and the discussions were extensive. Stakeholders had a strong opinion about the curriculum. A representative from a large company explains: ‘This process takes time. We have different priorities and different challenges. We need to listen to each other and find a balance between the short and the long term’.

This process takes time. We have different priorities and different challenges. We need to listen to each other and find a balance between the short and the long term.

2. The Change

NSC

•

Although Vietnam already has a flourishing sustainable coffee sector, it lacks a comprehensive approach on sustainability issues. The NSC can stimulate sustainable coffee production in Vietnam as it primarily focuses on the most important sustainability issues.

These include cooperative establishment, limited water use and selection of better fertilizers.

•

The NSC provides opportunities to improve horizontal and vertical market-linkages among coffee producers by establishing partnerships. It connects and strengthens the sector as a whole.

There are many different training materials available already. The NSC harmonizes these materials resulting in a comprehensive reference document.

VIABILITY Water and agrochemical use are threatening the long term viability of the sector.

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3. The Process The Working Group In Vietnam, multiple working groups were established to create the NSC. They were all chaired by Key National Experts (KNE’s), including The Western Highlands of Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute (WASI), and the National Agricultural Extension Centre (NAEC).

The Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development (MARD) and Stichting Nederlandse Vrijwilligers (SNV, the Foundation of Netherlands Volunteers) were also crucial players in the development process. The overall process was guided by the SCP national coordinator for Vietnam.

The KNE’s provided technical knowledge and were responsible for a harmonized cooperation between stakeholders. Stakeholders included trade and industry companies, input suppliers, extension services, and standards organizations.

Consulting Stakeholders Different representatives advised on the contents of the existing materials over the course of six consultations. These traders, exporters, extension centers and farmer groups also delivered input to new curriculum modules about sustainability practices. The sessions were primarily organized to engage the private sector, and to create ownership. As one key expert noted: ‘The process of consultation, harmonization and seeking document alignment from different stakeholders was challenging and took significant amounts of time’.

Discussion

Reference document

The private and public sector had different opinions and priorities.

Within the private sector, not all opinions were the same. There was a great deal of discussion about which agrochemicals should be used, and how to deal with water scarcity. As one stakeholder noted: ‘Although we have different agendas and it took a lot of time to find agreement, it [the discussions] brought us all together in the end’.

One of the issues under discussion was how extensively the current materials should be adapted. Was there need for a whole new curriculum, or would a reference document suffice? The decision was made to align other materials with the NSC. An approval text of the NSC is enclosed with existing documents, to create a full picture of best practice. ‘The NSC can be used as a reference and is never a competing document’, assures the national coordinator.

Collecting Materials

Writing The Curriculum

Contents of the NSC

Training-of-Trainers

The first step was to collect all available training materials and guidelines, and examine if the NSC could serve as a reference document.

The stakeholders conducted writing workshops to strengthen ownership. This approach gave them the opportunity to have as much impact as possible on the curriculum. Initially, the response of numerous stakeholders was slow.

They considered the first document too extensive to comment on. A new, briefer version was received more positively. One private stakeholder admitted:

The new curriculum covers farming, cooperation and business skills. It contains chapters about agronomy, farming as a business, farmer group establishment, climate change adaptation, and standards alignment. The focus is explicitly on sustainability practices and training.

The national coordinator states: ‘The innovation of the NSC is to include training methodology that trainees can learn from’.

To teach the trainers how to train farmers, a booklet for the Trainingof-Trainers (ToT) was prepared. 15 key national experts received the training. Afterwards they revised the draft of ToT materials. The next step for the NAEC was identified as the need to train 150 extension staff members (both public and private) in five coffee producing provinces.

‘Trainers should act as a facilitator, not as a teacher’, the national coordinator emphasizes.

It was determined that the NSC should be a standard-neutral and company-neutral document at all times. This is essential to obtaining endorsement of the curriculum by public authorities.

‘It is important to start with a simple document. That makes it much easier for us to provide input’.

Another public sector representative added: ‘The NSC turned out big, with many modules. It took time for validation, especially in Coffee Climate Change and Cooperative modules’.

4. The Challenges Support When there are many organizations that offer training materials, it can be hard to find support for another curriculum. Organizations prefer the materials developed in-house. Farmers are used to this own-brand training, which also strengthens the farmer ’s commitment to the providing organization.

DisSEMINATING THE NSC The NSC is publicly available. It is promoted through IDH co-funded field level projects, and the existing network in coffee producing provinces.

Currently (at the time this booklet was produced), the aim is to attain funding from the government in order to print the documents through the NAEC.

Support for the NSC increased after showing the relevance of an overarching document focused on sustainability issues.

To get the word out, a TV channel has broadcast the issue, and a website dedicated to the NSC was created.

Ownership When the NSC aims at broad ownership, the content is a mixture of different opinions. As the national coordinator explains: ‘It is easier to develop your own materials, than adopt a document which contains many different viewpoints and for which you may not agree 100 percent’.

UPDATES It will be necessary to annually update the NSC. The national coordinator explains: ‘Better fertilizers are on the way. New recommendations for water scarcity will need to be created.

The maximum amount of water that can be used depends heavily on the amount of rainfall. The NSC should respond to those changes’.

He affirms the flexibility of the NSC: ‘The NSC is a national document, although there are region-specific details, like water scarcity differences. Extensionists can adapt the document to suit their own region best’.

Cooperation Every stakeholder brought his own skills and knowledge to the meetings. As the national coordinator explains: ‘Scientists develop comprehensive technical documents while extensionists design practical Training-ofTrainer and Training-of-Farmer materials’. Long discussions brought these different perspectives together.

5. The Learning Points Work Together Recognizing and respecting everyone’s different skills and knowledge served to enhance cooperation during the process. Aligning the NSC with other training materials, instead of developing a whole new document, created a great deal of goodwill among stakeholders.

Keep it simple Extensive documents take a long time to revise and contribute to. Stakeholders prefer to work as efficiently and effectively as possible. Keeping this in mind accelerates the process.

Engage private stakeholders Stakeholders consider it very relevant to contribute to the contents of the NSC. To create ownership and commitment it is crucial to enable them to deliver input.

Alignment It is not easy to align all training methodologies and understand how extension materials overlap.

There are so many. Sharing the knowledge is not everyone’s priority. It is important to show that there is a much to be gained by cooperating.

Successful stakeholder cooperation through a national sustainability curriculum.

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Next Steps in Coffee Sector Collaboration

Concluding Remarks

F

or an NSC to be taken up and prove effective, it is imperative that it addresses real sustainability issues in national coffee production. As each of the trials in this booklet show, coming to an agreement about what the most important issues are, and the most effective way to address them, is not easy.

Two main challenges presented themselvesownership and commitment.

Collective ownership is considered essential for a successful NSC, especially on local levels.

However, this is sometimes hard to reach.

Stakeholders all want their viewpoints and interests to be represented.

In some countries, existing curricula are already in use. In other countries, farmers prefer to stick to familiar practices. Institutions also have their own interests and beliefs, and extension services must be convinced to upgrade their own training materials to a common manual.

In order to meet these challenges, a thorough engagement process proved to be essential in creating a sense of ownership and commitment.

Such a process consists of three major stages: •

•

Engaging stakeholders in extensive consultation sessions to create ownership and commitment.

Existing knowledge should be compiled, and additional research conducted with international requirements for verification and certification in mind.

Everyone involved should understand the positive implications of the NSC.

•

Translating the base document into practical training materials with an accompanying “Training-of-Trainer” (ToT) guide. The ToT should be designed to enable extension services to teach farmers. Materials should consist of practical adult learning methods that can help farmers reach their aspired skill set. Trainers and their trainees must end up with a basic knowledge of sustainable production.

The process as a whole takes time, but the results speak for themselves. As Brazil, Tanzania, Uganda and Vietnam have shown, continuous dialogue between public and private stakeholders on all levels is one of the main reasons why the NSC has the potential to be highly successful.

We’re feeling positive about the future. To help get there, IDH and SCP are partnering with 4CAssociation and ICO to develop Vision 2020, the next stage in multi-stakeholder collaborations. This unique collaboration has immense potential, and we look forward to developing it to the very best of our abilities.

This booklet is the first part of a series of updates that will provide information on the development of a National Sustainability Curriculum in Brazil, Tanzania, Uganda and Vietnam.

You can follow developments, and learn more about Vision 2020, on our website: www.sustainablecoffeeprogram.com

Creating an endorsed base document agreed on by extension services, and local and international trade partners. This should contain all relevant knowledge of good agricultural practices. Public and private experts should be asked to contribute, and including competing materials can help reach an NSC endorsed by all stakeholders.

V

ision 2020 is an innovative publicprivate sector collaboration being developed by IDH and SCP, together with the 4C Association and the International Coffee Organization (ICO).

The partnership’s vision for the future is one in which more public and private stakeholders can align in a common agenda. The aim is to realize long-term collective benefits for coffee farming communities, and the entire coffee sector.

The ICO is the intergovernmental body responsible for addressing the challenges facing the coffee sector. Mauricio Galindo, Head of Operations, is positive: ‘Vision 2020 has the potential to bring about radical change in the sector by aligning the work streams and agendas of those willing to participate’. In particular, he feels that the work done so far by IDH on developing the National Sustainability Curriculum in individual coffee producing countries has been of great value: ‘It raises the bar for how efficiently coffee farmers go about their agricultural practices’.

4C Association is a global, private sector multistakeholder based membership organization.

Annette Pensel, Director of Sustainability Innovations at 4C Association sees immense potential in the participatory public-private approach of Vision 2020. Commenting on the NSC process, she credits its ability to provide a space for alignment between local stakeholders and experts: ‘Building on these trainings, coffee farmers will be able to reach sustainability standards and more easily access respective markets. Success of the NSC will eventually rely on effective public and private extension services for uptake and roll-out’.

Vision 2020 offers a very real chance to contribute to the resilience and livelihoods of coffee farming communities, as well as the sector as a whole. The NSC has an important role to play in the strategy currently being developed.

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As Jenny Kwan, Senior Program Manager at The Sustainable Coffee Program and IDH points out: ‘the NSC is a powerful tool for addressing critical sustainability issues in producing countries. Strong national platforms are what will ultimately determine the success or failure of products like the NSC, and Vision 2020 has as an unprecedented opportunity to build a common public-private agenda that can meet large-scale challenges’.

MAURICIO GALINDO

ANNETTE PENSEL

JENNY KWAN

Successful stakeholder cooperation through a national sustainability curriculum.

36

Acknowledgements

Colophon

Contact

Introduction

Author: Jeannette Kras

Gillian Evans

Ted van der Put Program Director IDH Jenny Kwan Senior Program Manager Coffee IDH

Case study Uganda

Communication Manager

Coordination: Gillian Evans Design: James Cooper (ONIC Design)

The Sustainable Coffee Program and IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative

Editing: Gillian Evans, Lucy Crystal (Words

+31 (0)6 42 28 7488

on Words)

evans@idhsustainabletrade.com or coffee@idhsustainabletrade.com

John Schluter CEO Café Africa

DISCLAIMER

Harriet Fowler Advisor, Café Africa Uganda

Although every effort has been made to ensure

Tony Mugoya Executive Manager, Uganda Coffee Farmers Alliance

Case study Vietnam Flavio Corsin IDH Vietnam Country Director Nguyen Quang Ngan Value Chain Manager, Yara Vietnam Ltd. Expert WASI, Western Highlands of Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute

that the content of this report is up to date and accurate, errors and omissions may occur. The report is provided on an “as is” basis and is not intended as a substitute for the reader ’s own due diligence and inquiry. IDH does not guarantee or warrant that the report or the information contained in it is complete or free of error, and accept no liability for any damage whatsoever arising from any decision or action taken or refrained from in reliance thereon, nor for any inadvertent misrepresentation made or implied.

Steering Committee:

Expert NAEC, National Agricultural Extension Centre

Case study Tanzania National level partners:

Catherine Murphy Mwangata Country Manager, Café Africa Tanzania Noel Yatera Vice Chair, Tanzania Coffee Association Adolph Kumburu Director General of Tanzania Coffee Board

Donors:

Case study Brazil Pedro Paulo de Faria Ronca Agronomist P&A Marketing Internacional

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Successful stakeholder cooperation through a national sustainability curriculum.

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