International Coffee Partners (ICP)
A strong pre-competitive non-profit partnership of eight committed family-owned coffee companies working for a more prosperous future for farming families. The vision of ICP is to improve smallholder coffee farmers’ livelihoods by making them more competitive, based on sustainable practices.
This vision goes beyond implementing individual development projects; ICP’s objective is to contribute to establishing a fair and sustainable coffee sector in all coffee producing regions and countries, as indicated in the Theory of Change of ICP.
ICP works under a strategic partnership with the foundation Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung as the implementer of its projects worldwide and administrator of the organization.
DONORS/PARTNERS:
International Coffee Partners (ICP) was established in 2001 by the companies Lavazza (Italy), Löfbergs (Sweden), Neumann Gruppe (Germany). Paulig (Finland), and Tchibo (Germany), to “improve smallholder coffee farmers’ livelihoods by making them more competitive, based on sustainable practices.” Sharing their core values, these family-owned companies pioneered a highly innovative concept by forming a joint not-for-profit corporate venture. In the years since its founding, three additional family-owned companies joined as shareholders: Joh. Johannson Kaffe (Norway), Franck (Croatia) and Delta Cafés (Portugal).
Other international organizations like ADA (Austrian Development Agency) and SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) are contributing financially to support the long-term sustainability of ICP projects.
KEY ACTIVITIES:
The holistic livelihood approach of ICP encompasses the promotion of inclusive family businesses, strengthening of farmer organizations, rolling out of climate-smart practices based on the experiences gained in the initiative for coffee&climate, encouraging the next farming generation and mainstreaming gender equality in all interventions. In addition to coffee, diversification of production systems is emphasized as a means of stabilizing cash flows, ensuring food security, reducing risks and conserving natural resources.
ICP contributes technical assistance based on its core competencies, including project design, preparation, and implementation as well as monitoring through the implementing partners, Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung.
ICP offers professional coffee know-how and financing of specific components. National and international experts share their experiences according to specific requirements and ICP actively coordinates support from other dedicated partners such as donor organizations, NGOs, and governmental institutions.
SIGNATURE PROJECTS/TOOLS:
Since 2001 ICP has implemented 23 projects in 13 countries. 92,693 Smallholder Families directly benefitted as of December 2019.
PRIORITY COUNTRIES:
Indonesia: climate change resilience, farms profitability, adoption of Good Agricultural Practices.
Ethiopia: farmer field schools, gender inclusion, youth engagement.
Tanzania: organizational development, empower farmers to strengthen their livelihoods among other important areas covered such as marketing and service linkages, climate-smart agriculture for coffee and food crops, gender equality and youth engagement.
Uganda: farmer organizations, technical extension, bulk marketing, value addition, linkages to buyers and service providers, access to finance (scaling of pilots), gender inclusion and youth engagement.
Brazil: access to markets, climate change adaptation, training activities including governance and leadership.
Trifinio: Improve the economic, environmental and community conditions of the coffee growing regions in the upper catchment area of the Rio Lempa. (International Coffee Partners, the Trifinio Commission and the National Coffee Institutes of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador).