Allies of the Productive and Sustainable Agro-Colombian Initiative Begin Dialogue on Living Income

IDH's Senior Manager of Innovation, Sourcing and Services for Smallholder Producers, Ashlee Tuttleman, explained that a living income is the amount necessary for a family to have their needs met and live decently. This income is calculated through a few main components such as food, housing, education, transportation, healthcare, and other essential needs, taking into account the standards of a given place. "We have to eliminate the existing gaps to provide a standard of living. And it is a joint effort, because a single actor cannot face this challenge alone," he reinforced.

In this sense, the participation of companies is essential. During the webinar, the manager of the Green Coffee Project, Santiago Arango, presented the experience of Nespresso, which already incorporates these elements into its action strategy. "Our living income program has been in development for 18 years and puts coffee farmers at the forefront. We want consumers to have access to high-quality coffee, but we also want this to translate into good living conditions for producers and promote the development of the territory where they live," Arango added.

The dialogue on a living income will be deepened with the members of the PPI Pacts in Colombia over the next year. The Economic Cooperation and  Development (SECO) of the Embassy of Switzerland in Colombia is evaluating the possibility of investing in a project aimed at the coffee sector, with the promotion of a decent income as one of the guidelines.