INDONESIA- Nestlé, the maker of the popular instant coffee brand Nescafe, has partnered with Blue Marble Microinsurance to provide weather insurance to more than 800 smallholder coffee farmers in Indonesia
Blue Marble is a startup with a mission of providing socially impactful, commercially viable insurance protection to underserved farmers.
The insurance program was unveiled during this year’s International Coffee day and is in line with Nescafé Plan 2030 whose aim is to support long-term sustainability and help smallscaleholder farmers improve their livelihoods.
“We are proud to partner with Nestlé and its brand Nescafé to develop innovative ways to support the climate adaptation of smallholder coffee farmers and their families,” said Jaime de Piniés, CEO of Blue Marble.
“Smallholder coffee farmers in Indonesia are vulnerable to climate risks and need access to insurance to protect against extreme weather events.”
According to Marcello Burity, Global Head of Nestlé’s Green Coffee Development, this pilot program will provide support mechanisms to smallholder coffee farmers enabling them access to financial resources to reestablish their crops and build their resilience due to unprecedented rainfall and severe drought.
The company is looking forward to the results from the pilot program which will be used to inform the decision on whether the program will be continued or not.
A new Coffee farming guidebook launched
Meanwhile, Nestlé has stepped up its efforts to support sustainable agriculture by contributing a new guidebook aimed at helping coffee farmers transition to climate-smart agricultural farming methods.
Titled ‘Regenerative Agriculture for Low-Carbon and Resilient Coffee Farms – A Practical Guidebook,’ the new guidebook has been developed by the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
The guidebook contains a set of best practices that farmers can use and adapt to climate change by transitioning to regenerative agriculture.
These best practices include agroforestry, intercropping, soil conservation, and cover crops, integrated weed and pest management, integrated nutrient management, efficient water use, waste valorization, landscape actions, and the rejuvenation of coffee trees with well-adapted varieties.
“The best practices highlighted in the guidebook are a starting point,” Mirjam Pulleman, senior soil ecologist and co-author of the guidebook hinted.
“Each practice will need to be tailored to the specificities of each country of origin, the different farm types, the surrounding landscapes, and the resources available.”
Nestle notes that moving to regenerative agriculture will enable coffee farmers to restore soil health, reverse biodiversity loss, and strengthen ecosystems.
The company considers regenerative agriculture as a key component of its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reach net zero by 2050.
