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Timetable of the Living Income Benchmark Study in 2022

© Pictures: Simon Opladen, Helvetas (Value Chain Project in Peru / San Martin together with Fairtrade Max Havelaar among others)

A guidepost to achieving a decent standard of living for Peruvian cocoa and coffee farmers - Living Income Benchmark Study

Poverty in many cocoa producing countries is persistent - including Peru. It clearly highlights the urgency to add an economic factor to the sustainability efforts of the industry. The true costs of environmentally and socially sound production practices must be included into the equation. For the cocoa sector to be sustainable, growing cocoa must in the first place make business sense to farmers.

Achieving a sustainable and decent livelihood for smallholder farmers in the cocoa sector is a goal of SWISSCO - and at the core of Fairtrade Max Havelaar Switzerland's mission. That is why SWISSCO and Fairtrade Max Havelaar Switzerland in cooperation with the Sustainable Food Lab and stakeholders from the coffee sector are partnering to carry out a Living Income Benchmark Study to calculate the true costs of a decent life (Living Income) for cocoa and coffee farmers in Peru.

The cocoa and coffee sector joined forces to calculate living income benchmarks for Peru. This effort includes studies to calculate robust, representative Living Income Benchmarks with the Anker Research Institute as a basis to identify income gaps and to close and surpass those gaps – to allow all farmers in Peru to enjoy a decent standard of living.

The study is conducted with strong, multi-stakeholder support from public, private and NGO sectors. Focus regions of the study are San Martin, Cajamarca, and Junín or Cusco. Fieldwork and data collection will be done in the middle of this year and the final benchmark will be published by the end of 2022.

Project partners:

  • Financial Sponsorship: Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Starbucks, Keurig Dr Pepper, Sustainable Harvest Coffee Importers, Olam Specialty Coffee, Solidaridad-Peru
  • In kind: Peru Ministry of Agriculture, Fairtrade International, Sustainable Food Lab, Max Havelaar Switzerland, Solidaridad-Peru

 

More information:

Living Income Member Event // Dec. 14, 2021

Presentation Living Income Member Event, P. 71

Contact:

Isabel Heidler, Max Havelaar Switzerland: i.heidler(at)maxhavelaar.ch