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Antonio Rosa. Our contact information is available on the COFFEE Project will be developing a suite of tools specifi-
Get Involved section of the website. cally designed to meet the needs of smallholder farmers.
Verité will identify the primary tools needed by smallhold-
What do you think are some of the biggest ers and the ideal format of such tools through stakeholder
challenges facing the labor and human dialogue and an expert committee that will also be respon-
rights movement today? sible for helping to design and refine these tools. The tools
will subsequently be translated into Spanish and Portuguese,
On one hand, there has been an increase in attacks made publicly available on our website, and disseminated
and criminalization of human rights offenders. On the on the ground in Brazil.
other hand, many populations are becoming increasing- Furthermore, Verité will soon be publishing robust
ly vulnerable to human and labor rights abuses due to guidance and resources on human rights due diligence in
climate change, forced displacement, conflict, violence, the agricultural sector more broadly through the Farm
and political instability. Labor Due Diligence Initiative, funded by a coalition of
In terms of labor issues specifically, one of the biggest leadership-level companies.
challenges is that farmers – especially smallholders – are
generally the actors in the supply chain with the least re- Verité’s research shows that among the most effective
sources and capacity to improve labor conditions. As com- methods of reducing risk is by establishing a comprehensive
modity prices remain stubbornly and unrealistically low, due diligence process that involves direct engagement with
price fluctuations and increases in the cost of key inputs – farmers, workers, and local stakeholders. Such approaches
such as fertilizers – can push farmers to cut costs rather than can ensure that farmers and workers are treated fairly and
How have these results been translated try-level changes. However, I can say that coffee invest in improving wages and working conditions. Because with respect while providing coffee companies with great-
into tangible tools that can be used by producers, traders, and roasters now have access to labor is usually farmers’ largest expense and the only one er transparency into their supply chains. By taking a pro-
businesses to address such issues? free tools and training materials to increase their ca- over which they have control, when prices fall, costs increase, active approach to due diligence, companies can ensure that
pacity to proactively and effectively identify, address, or farmers face a crisis such as a crop illness or natural di- they are identifying and addressing labor violations before
We created the Socially Sustainable Sourcing Toolkit and prevent labor abuses on coffee farms. We have also saster, wages and working conditions often deteriorate. they become public – protecting both themselves and the
(S3T) through a process of robust stakeholder engagement identified cost-effective approaches to improve labor Therefore, it is essential to identify win-win solutions people throughout their supply chain.
and an innovative Participatory Tool Development Pro- conditions in the coffee sector through our pilot proj- to improving working conditions while also offering bene-
cess, which has been documented in a guide published by ects and will be publishing lessons learned from Brazil, fits to farmers. We have piloted ethical recruitment ap-
the U.S. Department of Labor. The S3T is a comprehensive Colombia, and Mexico in the coming months to pro- proaches that can result in increased efficiencies for farm-
and detailed set of 17 tools that help businesses and oth- mote the replication of these approaches. ers and protect them from legal and reputational risks in
er stakeholders detect, prevent, and address labor viola- Brazil. In Colombia, we piloted harvesting techniques and
tions in the coffee sector. Among the tools is an online How do you think this project is going to tools to improve productivity and incomes, while decreas-
interactive Risk Evaluation for Action in the Coffee Trade influence the future of labor and human ing ergonomic risks, for workers paid by the pound of
(RE-ACT) Dashboard that helps users proactively identi- rights in the coffee sector? coffee harvested. This resulted in increased worker satis-
fy labor risks and their root causes in leading Latin Amer- faction and yields for farmers and did not cost any more
ican coffee-producing countries. The other tools are I believe that providing coffee producers, traders, and per pound of coffee harvested.
document-based and can be accessed online or printed producers with tools and training modules will ensure that Improving wages, working conditions, and worker
out. These tools, along with a guidance document on they have practical resources to effectively guide and align satisfaction is key to ensuring a stable supply of farm
definitions and international standards, are available in their efforts to improve labor conditions at the farm level. workers. With increasing labor shortages in key cof-
English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Our hope is that by identifying and piloting cost-effective fee-producing countries, farmers are increasingly recog-
approaches to improving working conditions that are mu- nizing that coffee harvesters are not “low-skilled work-
How has the COFFEE Project changed or tually beneficial to workers and producers alike, we will be ers,” but instead irreplaceable “field baristas” who are
improved the situation with regard to hu- able to promote the scaling and replication of these ap- essential to ensuring a steady supply of high-quality
man rights and labor abuses in coffee proaches in other geographies. coffee. Therefore, it is key to the survival of the coffee Useful Links
production countries? sector that we identify scalable cost-effective models to
What advice would you offer to companies improve working conditions in the sector. - You can find the report Living Wage for Rural Areas
The COFFEE Project seeks to develop open-source wanting to take actionable steps to reduce and Small Towns of Colombia at globallivingwage.org
tools and training modules and to pilot these resourc- labor and human rights abuses in their What’s next for Verité in terms of tackling - To learn more about the COFFEE Project: verite.org/
es and cost-effective approaches to improving labor supply chains? labor and human rights issues worldwide? coffee-project/
- The COFFEE Project Toolkit: verite.org/coffee-proj-
conditions in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. As the ect/toolkit/
project didn’t seek to measure the impact of our inter- I would advise companies to explore the COFFEE As I mentioned earlier, through the recently approved - The COFFEE Project Training Modules: verite.org/
ventions on a country level, I can’t speak to coun- Project website and to contact me or the Project Director, cost extension from the U.S. Department of Labor, the coffee-project/online-training-modules/

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