Through Nespresso’s AAA Program, agronomists are working with producers to build a coffee industry that builds healthy soils while supporting farming communities.
Launched more than a decade ago with the help of the Rainforest Alliance, the AAA Program engages agronomists who work “hand in hand” with farmers in coffee producing regions around the world, Jessica Padula, Vice President of Marketing and Head of Sustainability for Nespresso, tells Food Tank.
These agronomists strive to gain farmers’ trust, offering training and resources to help producers implement practices to improve yields while reducing soil erosion. In turn, the farmers teach them about the wildlife specific their region or the cover crops that are most effective.
“I really think there is a value exchange,” Padula says. “And we learn from the farmers how to be better partners.”
This support is particularly important as changing weather patterns affect coffee production. “Climate change is making the temperature shift in such a way that coffee is going further and further up the mountain peak,” where there is less area to farm, Padula tells Food Tank. “We’re at threat of not being able to grow coffee. There’s no other way to grow it today.”
Nespresso is also looking to expand coffee farming through their Reviving Origins Program. Nespresso’s team identifies parts of the world that are ideal for production but where coffee crops aren’t being grown due to natural disasters or political conflict.
Reviving Origins focuses on solving “foundational issues,” investing in infrastructure, and rebuilding farms, Padula tells Food Tank. “That protects the future of coffee in that region and ensures that the world gets to continue experiencing it even in the face of future hurricanes.”
Listen to the full conversation with Jessica Padula on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” to hear more about the knowledge exchange between producers and agronomists, efforts to create a circular economy through packaging solutions, and closing the gender gap for women farmers.
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