On August 23rd, the C Price hit the highest it’s been for 90 days (USD 251). In that time, Brazil has not received rain, Vietnam has been in drought and then punished by heavy rain (same as India) and many parts of Colombia are being devastated by drought. These are the top 3 coffee-producing countries in the world.

High prices are great when you have coffee to sell, but when you don’t, and the issue causing the lack of supply isn’t a short-term situation, we may be looking down the barrel of a changed market…or we may not! We know those who have prepared their farms with amendments like biochar seem to be fairing better than others.

Earlier this year, when we started using the term “Coffee Crisis” we were contacted by Fairtrade International asking to come and discuss the work they were doing.

I have been curious about Fairtrade over the years because of the mixed messages I get from stakeholders in the industry that engage with Fairtrade Coffee. So when they approached me about the potential for a discussion on the podcast, I was very interested. I was especially keen to hear their perspectives on the role that regenerative agriculture would play in the future of coffee supply stability.

Ahead of the recording of the discussion was the expectation that we would lean into the challenges as well as the successes that Fairtrade is experiencing past, present, and in the coffee crisis we're facing in the future.

I walked away with lots to think about and am grateful for Monika's openness and frankness about the complexity of the situations facing the small team at Fairtrade dealing with some large global issues for coffee producers. Monika openly states that organizations like Fairtrade International can and need to do better….and yes, we talked extensively on the dreaded “Combo Contract”.

This is a new five-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro by Map It Forward Podcast with Monika Firl, the Senior Advisor of the Coffee Program at Fairtrade International.

The theme of this series is exploring what Fairtrade International represents and stands for in 2024 with a specific focus on their efforts in the coffee sector.

The 5 episodes of this series are:

1. Fairtrade International in 2024 - https://youtu.be/j8dNKCaSPa4

2. The Action Behind Fairtrade's Promises - https://youtu.be/-7du-T-b-78

3. What Is The Role of Fairtrade - https://youtu.be/rikHywHJ3e4

4. Combo Contracts and Fairtrade International - https://youtu.be/Tr7aoAxFU-8

5. Fairtrade's Perspective on The Coffee Crisis - https://youtu.be/qFscZSDSPS0

I hope you enjoy the series and approach it with curiosity and openness. The solutions to the coffee crisis lay in us being open to hearing each other's challenges, being vulnerable enough to share our own, and intelligent enough to listen for the nuance and not be married to our ideologies - this is where we will create the kind of industry that we can all be proud of.

Connect with Monika and Fairtrade International here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monika-firl-663a151a/

Website: https://www.fairtrade.net/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fairtradeofficial/

New episodes of the podcast series also drop every weekday on podcast apps (search The Daily Coffee Pro by Map It Forward). YouTube and Patreon members have access to the whole series now.

If you love what we’re doing and want to support our work for just a couple of dollars a month, please consider supporting us on Patreon or become a paid member of our YouTube Channel.

Peace Love and Peanut Butter, Have a wonderful rest of your day!

Lee Safar

Map It Forward Founder