Agribusinesses that produce sustainable commodities offer the potential to restore nature and landscapes, fight climate change, and create jobs. But many agribusinesses in East Africa face barriers that prevent them from scaling up, including market access and resources for fundraising. At Regenerate Africa, we provide technical assistance to small and medium-sized agribusinesses in East Africa that are producing high-quality, sustainable commodities, in regenerative, agroforestry systems that help to restore landscapes, including cocoa, coffee, banana fruits especially avocado, jackfruits, mango, citrus, among others. We’ve seen this trend develop across markets for some time, and coffee and cocoa are no exception: consumers are becoming more aware of where their goods come from and what shape they take, and are changing their purchasing habits as a result.
Coffee is one of the world’s most popular beverages, however, it is a crop acutely sensitive to climate change. Demand for coffee is expected to triple by 2050, while climate change could reduce the amount of land most suitable for growing coffee by 50%. This is expected to increase price volatility and supply chain shocks, affecting availability as well as the livelihoods of 12.5 million coffee farmers worldwide. Many producers are already adapting to a changing climate by moving plantations to elevated locations – and in doing so driving the deforestation frontier into fragile and unprotected tropical mountain forest ecosystems.
Adopting regenerative coffee growing methods can mitigate these risks and impacts and significantly increase climate resilience, reducing deforestation and increasing productivity and farmer incomes. The results are increased quality, economic benefits for farmers, flourishing nature, and increased resilience against the impacts of climate change. Coffee companies can improve supply chain and sourcing resilience, while reducing emissions via increased carbon sequestration.
Coffee crops can be grown with banana, black pepper, cardamom, native ginger, vanilla, and orange depending on the area and landscape. According to International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) the conventional practice of intercropping coffee and bananas together, according to on-farm analysis, increases total revenue per unit area by more than 50% compared to monocropped banana or coffee, without affecting coffee yield. Intercropping coffee with bananas also proves useful in risk reduction and improving food security
Regenerate Africa provides stakeholders spanning the entire coffee value chain with a view of capacity and financing gaps and opportunities to transition to regenerative coffee – and an approach to bridge the interest and capital of companies, investors, and philanthropists, while coordinating action at the level of coffee-growing landscapes.
Cocoa is not only the main ingredient for the world’s most popular treat. It is also an income source for millions of smallholder farmers. Working with cocoa is vital due to its extensive environmental, social, economic, and climate impacts globally. While cocoa trees are mainly cultivated in Africa, farmers are facing tremendous challenges due to low prices and often live below the extreme poverty line of $1.9 per person per day. Working with cocoa is vital due to its extensive environmental, social, economic, and climate impacts globally. Cocoa farming, particularly in Uganda and East Africa, is linked to deforestation and biodiversity loss. The cocoa industry faces challenges like poverty, child labour, and lack of fair compensation in farming communities. Sustainable cocoa farming practices, like agroforestry, can enhance carbon sequestration, making cocoa relevant for climate change mitigation. Although cocoa is a lucrative business with staggering margins for those controlling the value chain, the producers mostly live in poverty
Global demand for cocoa is expected to increase by 20%, with a projected market value growth from 47 USD billion in 2021 to 68,2 USD billion in 2030. Not many agricultural commodities can compete with growth rates like this. Fortunately, cocoa and coffee growth is also spilling over to sustainable markets, which are driven by heightened consumer awareness and new regulatory steps such as the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) coming into force.
From coffee to cocoa, we provide growers and stakeholders of tropical commodities with the expertise, finance, and market access they need to scale regenerative commodity production. We help producers access the price premiums they deserve. We support agribusinesses and smaller holder farmers in securing capital and finance, we provide tailored support in areas of financial modelling, business plan development, and strategic planning. We work with mission-aligned investors to identify and accelerate partnership opportunities.
By partnering with Regenerate Africa, you can be part of the solution:
Together, we can transform Africa’s commodity sectors into engines of sustainable development that benefit people and planet.