Prosperous & Dignified People

It is estimated that 125 million people are involved in growing, cultivating and processing coffee within the 70 countries of coffee production. Many coffee producers are intergenerational farmers and farm workers whose farms and production techniques are part of their cultural and family heritage inherited over generations.  Up to 80% of coffee is produced from smallholders whose land size shrinks as they pass their farms to the next generation.

Coffee producers – farm owners, their household members, and workers – are indispensable for every cup of coffee. Producers are essential because of their care, labor and investment in coffee. They are also environmental stewards, water protectors and community developers, and they stand on the front line of climate change and forest protection.

Producers must be fairly compensated for the value they create in the coffee industry so they can live with dignity and be equipped to face environmental, economic, and geopolitical risks. Human rights frameworks such as living income and living wage define minimum thresholds for fair compensation: a living income is the net annual household income needed for a decent standard of living in a given place, while a living wage is the remuneration for a standard workweek that enables a worker and their family to meet that same standard. Both emphasize access to essentials—food, water, housing, education, healthcare, transportation, clothing, and provision for unexpected events—as rights rather than optional benefits.

When farmers are organized into groups, associations and/or cooperatives, they can play a crucial role in advocating for fairer terms for themselves vis-à-vis buyers. The more mature and sophisticated a group becomes, the more confidence, leverage and influence they can have. The coffee sector has many examples of influential farmer organizations, from the Federation Nacionale de Colombia to Fairtrade Producer Organizations like Fairtrade Network of Asia and Pacific Producers and The Latin American and Caribbean Network. Groups like these deliver critical services to farmers and advocate for better terms and treatment in the coffee industry and from policymakers in origin and destination governments. In some cases, farmer organizations enable farmers to be equal members or shareholders in vertically integrated businesses that process, roast, brand and even retail coffee in domestic and overseas markets; this fundamentally shifts their value and risk profile in the industry and enables prosperity, resilience, and dignity.

When farmers are resilient and fairly compensated, then they may experience less pressure to encroach on forests, to drive down costs of production by limiting wages or providing poor working conditions for farm workers, or to choose between children to decide which should be educated. When farm workers earn a living wage and their rights are respected, they have more freedom from unfair and unlawful working conditions, cycles of debt and forced labor.

And when men and women receive equal compensation, status and access to risk-management tools from the same coffee activities, then households, communities, nations and the entire sector benefits.

There is enough value in the coffee sector to ensure that most farmers and farm workers can in fact earn a dignified living. In 2020 coffee was estimated to generate $250 billion in retail revenues, yet actors at origin like producers retained less than 10% of that value despite their essential role in production. In the 2024/2025 seasons, the price of conventional coffee has nearly increased fourfold compared to previous decades, and consumer prices continue adjusting upwards at retail level.

The coffee industry can choose to rally behind this significant shift in value distribution for the benefit of producers, to transform the sector towards shared prosperity and less volatility for all in the long-term. It is an opportunity to commit to deliver living incomes and wages among coffee producers so they can be dignified, resilient environmental stewards for generations to come. Governments can mandate such changes to level the playing field across industry and hold industry actors accountable.

Data as an enabler

Living income and living wage benchmarks and gap calculations are being undertaken by industry, governments and civil society. Living income and living wage gap analyses enable stakeholders to calculate viable prices for coffee producers that include living wages to workers.

FairTrade International has used living income and wage gap data to calculate Living Income Reference Prices (LIRP) where Anker-derived benchmark studies have been deployed. This has resulted in public living income reference prices for seven countries that any coffee stakeholder could use as a reference for the minimum price to be paid for coffee to enable more coffee farmers to earn at least a living income.

Other approaches exist to calculate prices for coffee based on living income gaps as well as various production methods. Fairfood, Heifer and AKVO are pioneering a farmer-segment-led approach to developing living income-informed prices.

The Salary Matrix calculates living wage gaps of workers and price increases required to close living wage gaps. This tool is underused in the coffee sector, yet it has significant traction with other commodities. Various other methods, tools and approaches exist in and beyond coffee to calculate living income and wage gaps in actionable ways.

Utilizing living income gap data helps analyze the impact of prices on income, and it also illuminates the limitations of higher prices for some farmer groups and production conditions. For example, very small farms are difficult to make viable due to the low total production volume possible, so off-farm income sources may be required alongside living income prices. Farms with very low productivity will also not benefit significantly from increased prices due to low total production volume, indicating living income prices alongside affordable productivity improvements are necessary.

Industry and civil society actors continue to experiment with different methods for utilizing living income data to inform price decisions, procurement-led value sharing strategies as well as to support policy development and enforcement. The non-exhaustive examples above showcase the diversity within farming populations and conditions, and the need to understand different populations – alongside their data – to determine an effective approach to close living income gaps.

GROUNDS FOR CONCERN

The coffee industry falls short of its potential for delivering on the promise of prosperity and dignity for coffee producers. This section highlights how poverty, low wages, worker exploitation and inequity shape the sector’s deepest challenges.

Poverty, not prosperity

Despite their hard work, most coffee farmers and almost all farm workers live in poverty and earn far below a living income or living wage. Living income and wage gap analysis is sometimes available in individual reports but remains limited across the coffee sector, especially for up-to-date data. That said, living income gaps have been calculated in multiple origins to help the industry get a sense of the scale and depth of the problem.

Under more ‘normal’ coffee market prices, most producers are not meeting half of their financial needs from coffee production. This means coffee does not secure decent housing, nutritious food, school fees or savings for emergencies for most producers.  This financial insecurity compels farmers to make difficult choices, such as sending children to work on farms rather than studying at school or cutting down rainforests to expand their farmland simply to put food on the table. They may even leave farming altogether, or at least encourage their children to find better opportunities for themselves and future generations.

In fact, over the decades it has become common knowledge that most smallholder coffee farmers do not achieve break-even from their coffee sales. This is why many coffee farmers subsidize their own farm income with wage work on other farms. With such low income from coffee production, there is no chance to increase farm worker wages and close living wage gaps.

Without enough money, farmers have a hard time transitioning to regenerative agroforestry that can provide not only food security and income diversification for them, but also carbon, soil, biodiversity, and pest control benefits for all.  Without a reliable cash flow, farmers will not sell to producer groups, which deteriorates relationships, trust and market opportunities. It also puts pressure on producer groups to limit necessary practices like treating effluents or investing in protective equipment for hazardous work at processing facilities.

Working conditions and precarity

Despite their essential role in producing the world’s coffee, many coffee farm workers endure harsh working conditions and precariousness. Coffee farm workers are a mixture of coffee farmers, regional migrants and youth – all groups with different vulnerabilities – who experience significant risk to their dignity, welfare and rights. Seasonal and informal employment leaves many without job security, healthcare, or legal protections. To survive, some workers are compelled to work excessive hours or involve their children in labor.  Some may be victims of forced labour and modern slavery, while others migrate in search of unstable, short-term work because they simply do not have better options (Public Eye 2023, Conectas Human Rights 2024, Verite 2024).

Labor organizing is restricted, discouraged, or outright dangerous in many coffee-growing countries. In China and Vietnam, independent unions are illegal or tightly controlled, leaving workers with no voice to demand fair wages or safe conditions (International Trade Union Confederation 2023, Al Jazeera 2024). In other producing countries like Colombia and Guatemala, attempts to organize or advocate for better treatment can lead to intimidation, violence, or even death (Justice for Colombia n.d., Peace Brigades International 2025). This climate of fear and repression prevents farm workers from improving their livelihoods and perpetuates the systemic inequalities that underpin the global coffee trade.

Association, collective action and control

Many farmers – especially in robusta production, regardless of gender – are not associated with any farmer group, association or cooperative at all. And even among those that exist, many farmer groups are formed by exporters or civil society organizations to facilitate training or coffee aggregation rather than to develop independent, farmer-led businesses that will have the skills and confidence to enhance their own bargaining power, access essential resources for business development and improved conditions, and to legitimately influence sector dynamics through direct, collective ownership and action.

Equity for women

Women own, manage and labor on many coffee farms. Their roles are often rendered invisible, unrecognized and/or treated inequitably. All too often women’s revenues and wages are lower than their male counterparts. In many countries, women are excluded from land ownership and cannot formally participate in farm ownership. Where women do own land, their parcels are often smaller than their male counterparts and they are more dependent on hired labor and hence experience higher production costs. While in other geographies, women do not share equally in the rewards of the family’s farm. Too often women are also confronted with sociocultural systems excluding them from accessing lines of credit, from farmer groups and unions, from certifications, from leadership roles in coffee institutions, and more. Women farmers and farm workers also experience sexual and other forms of gender-based violence.

Industry and governments are not optimizing efforts to enable gender equity within their spheres of control and influence in the coffee sector. Industry-led gender transformative approaches that center women’s experiences and needs in the design of projects or procurement approaches are lacking. Even in well-intentioned ‘women’s entrepreneurship projects’ associated with corporate and development sustainability programs, women are expected to offer labor and other investments even when the participating women show no sign of economic benefit or long-term feasibility of the project.

Brewing better futures

Poverty, low prices, and wage gaps remain the root causes of unsustainable practices in coffee. When farmers struggle to meet their basic needs, their limited choices often push them into practices that harm both the environment and their families or communities. Without fair compensation, safe working conditions, and the freedom to organize, farm workers cannot secure dignity, prosperity or resilience. Farmers must be supported to build independent, profitable businesses that enable collective action and bargaining power. Gender inequity compounds these challenges, excluding women from ownership, leadership, and fair rewards.

Unless poverty, wages, and equity are addressed together, the vision of a prosperous and dignified coffee sector for producers will remain out of reach. Part IV provides recommendations for key stakeholders to enable dignity and prosperity for all producers.