From climate change to volatile
markets, the world’s smallholder
farmers face increasing risks.
Fact
Disease and climate change are challenging small farmersA severe epidemic of coffee leaf rust disease
in Guatemala hit 97% of the small farmers in
one region we surveyed and wiped out
almost half of their coffee income. Some
farmers coped better and had fewer losses
than others.
We want to know: what made that possible?
Empowering women can unleash
the potential of small-scale farming
by enhancing productivity and
improving food security for families
and communities.
Fact
Women farmers: hidden in the supply chainIn the coffee sector, women tend to be the greatest underutilized resource in rural areas. They are often overlooked in survey processes in favor of their male household members, thereby missing the opportunity that the process offers to provide information regarding their own situation. They are financially excluded, unable to access loans, and often the last to be included in conversations. They are further excluded from trainings and decision making about farm investments.
If farming is not economically
sustainable, the next generation
will move away from rural
communities.
Question
Who will grow your coffee in years to come?COSA understands that important things are not always easy to measure and we often overcome that with a tested array of quantitative and qualitative approaches that we combine with specific tools designed within our various global partnerships to assess youth engagement.
Farmer cooperatives are powerful
interveners for farmers. Their work
is smarter when they can get data
to understand and serve their
members better.
Fact
Nearly 1 billion people belong to a cooperativeAdvances in technology now make ‘democratizing data’ or getting data back to farmers possible. We saw how farmers from several cooperatives in Kenya had never before experienced getting the findings brought back to them, from data that had been collected from them. They discussed trends and provided reasons as to why the financial figures were as reported. If they know the reasons why they are ailing then it becomes easy for them to address the issues at hand.
Beyond the sustainability of individual
farmers, a broader, more holistic look at
the sustainability of a region or landscape
drives collective learning and action.
Fact
You cannot manage what you cannot measure.The COSA Landscape Approach identifies problems and solutions for a geographic region that benefits all stakeholders – from farmers to community leaders and governments and NGOs – by artfully blending big data with small data.