We launched a 3-year initiative (2019-2022) to revitalize the coffee value chain addressing immediate farm needs and long-term goals in collaboration with a multisector team. We have brought together a public and private collaboration including small and medium-scale coffee growers, government, business, research, philanthropy and advocacy, NGOs and non-profits supporting communities across the island. We seek to drive long-term local economic development in Puerto Rico by supporting 1,500 smallholder famers and local businesses to revitalize the island’s coffee industry, which faces dire and immediate challenges.

In September 2017, Hurricanes Irma and María destroyed over 80% of Puerto Rico’s coffee harvest and trees, resulting in an estimated total loss of $85 million for coffee farmers. This was specially devastating for the nearly 30% of Puerto Rico’s municipalities that rely on coffee production for income and employment, impacting directly at least 10,000 people including an estimated 2,300 coffee farmers. 

Though the aftermath of the hurricanes has been devastating for the coffee industry, it has also provided a unique and time-sensitive opportunity to rebuild this economic and cultural engine from the ground up, leaving it stronger and more climate resilient than before. However, the success of this long-term recovery requires economic empowerment and increased technical assistance for rural communities across Puerto Rico.  

We seek to increase the long-term resilience, and sustainability, and economic performance of the sector by bringing together a holistic support model to address the critical needs from the seed to the cup. TechnoServe and World Coffee Research, two global coffee sector expert NGO’s, will manage the implementation of the initiative with a Puerto Rican team.

This model includes: (1) diversifying and improving the quality of local coffee seed material, (2) rebuilding capacity in local nurseries, (3) training in best-in-field, climate-smart agronomic and business practices for 1,500 smallholder farmers to elevate the production and quality of the local sector, and (4) establishing a network and market opportunities for farmers. The initiative also supports the coordination of the PR Coffee Task Force.

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