The Coffee Quality Institute’s project, the Partnership for Gender Equity (PGE), is pleased to announce a new collaboration between the Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Environment (SAFE) Platform and S&D Coffee & Tea (S&D). SAFE is supporting the design and testing of PGE’s validated systemic approach to a more resilient supply chain through improving gender equity at origin. As a SAFE Platform member, S&D recognizes the importance of gender sensitive methodologies in their diverse supply chain investments, encouraging the use of PGE’s methodology to enhance farmer performance metrics.
It ends with a common goal: design and test a field project methodology so that SAFE members, and other industry partners, can more easily integrate gender equity into their existing supply chain programs. S&D will also begin to use PGE’s indicators linked to the project methodology in its field-level project in Colombia.
Olga L Cuellar G, sustainable sourcing manager with S&D, notes, “S&D has a great opportunity to work with PGE on this initiative to help the industry better understand and react to gender-based issues. We will be able to leverage the PGE tools to increase supply chain visibility by better measuring the participation of young women and men that are part of our sustainable sourcing platform, Raíz Sustainability.”
Earlier this month, PGE held an advanced household workshop in Nicaragua with members of the San Jose de La Luz coffee cooperative, a member organization of PRODECOOP. Twenty male and female farmers measured their progress against household and farm plans developed earlier in the year, using key indicators that will form part of PGE’s common measurement framework.
Together, the Nicaraguan workshop and indicator process contribute to PGE’s validated systematic approach to a more resilient coffee supply chain by improving gender equity at origin. “The coffee industry has demonstrated a noteworthy commitment to collective action and collaborative initiatives that drive resiliency and sustainability at origin. Gender equity is a topic of growing interest linked to this sustainability focus,” expands Kimberly Easson, PGE’s strategic director.
Ms. Cuellar expands, “By establishing specific key performance indicators around gender equality, we gain insights that will allow us to better manage our investments and maximize impact among our farming communities.” Eventually, S&D will be able to integrate the PGE project methodology into their supply chain activities, with the hope of more companies to follow.
