Growing pains: tackling coffee’s youth exodus

2 September 2022

4 min read

Three generations of farmers from Fazenda Santa Lucia, Brazil. Oswaldo Antônio Vicente (right) has been working at Santa Lucia for 24 years, his son Wellington Vitor Vicente ‘Chico’ (left) has worked at Santa Lucia for 15 years. Chico’s son (middle) wants to be an agronomist | Photo credit: Photo courtesy of Matthew Algie

The climate emergency has become a top priority for coffee businesses around the world, but with young farmers leaving the industry in droves, implementing solutions at origin is a growing challenge. Eduarda Cristovam, Director of Coffee Quality and Sustainability at Matthew Algie, speaks to Tobias Pearce about the importance of supporting young farmers today to ensure coffee has a bright future tomorrow

The negative impact of the climate emergency on global coffee production is already well documented. Up to 50% of the land used for growing coffee worldwide could become unsuitable for its cultivation by 2050 due to rising temperatures and extreme weather. Meanwhile, 60% of wild coffee species face extinction by the end of the century.