Case Study

Origin Issue Assessment: Colombia Coffee

As part of the JDE Common Grounds program, the Rainforest Alliance provides Origin Issue Assessments (OIAs) that identify critical economic, social, and environmental risks in sourcing countries. This OIA points to the following as critical risks for the Colombian coffee sector: climate smart agriculture, integrated pest management, child labor, and income diversification.

Coffee production in Colombia is already affected by the impacts of climate change, and although projects exist to buffer the effects, coffee farmers are not able to adapt quickly enough. Higher temperatures have led to higher incidence of pests and diseases, including the coffee berry borer, resulting in over-application of agrochemicals in a move to control the pest. Although a recent new law tackling child labor has been passed, evidence exists that child labor remains an issue on Colombian coffee farms. Low coffee prices over the past years have resulted in little financial capacity of smallholder farmers to diversify their farms, though some efforts exist.