Farmer Thriving Index in coffee in East Africa research results
In May 2023, Small Foundation supported 60 Decibels to launch the Farmer Thriving Index (FTI) in Coffee in East Africa. Previously developed for the cocoa value chain in West Africa, this research contextualised the FTI tool to measure the wellbeing of coffee farmers in East Africa.
We were interested in how the FTI could help us understand how farmers are doing, regardless of what they grow or who they sell to. We also wanted to understand the potential for the FTI tool to be deployed at scale, across value chains and geographies.
Farmer Thriving Index for Coffee in East Africa
While the ambition for the FTI is to cut across crops and geographies, it has to respond to the priorities of each value chain. For its inaugural coffee project, 60 Decibels engaged a consultation group of organisations with sector expertise. The group provided advice on the research methodology, dimensions of the FTI and company recruitment for the study.
The FTI tool was tailored to address the complexities of the coffee value chain, which involves numerous actors such as processors, cooperatives, and traders. The FTI was conducted on a nationally representative sample of over 1,000 coffee farmers from Uganda and a further 2,000 farmers from cooperatives in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The cooperative studies were co-funded by Small Foundation and other partners including buyers, investors and funders already associated with the cooperatives. An aggregate report of the results was produced.
Usefulness of the FTI in coffee
The study results were shared widely in the sector. The findings indicated the FTI was the first independent measurement of farmer wellbeing for many cooperatives. Funders noted that despite having formal impact measurement processes, the FTI was the first time they had holistically measured farmer wellbeing. Cooperatives and funders also cited being able to hear directly from farmers as a key aspect of the tool’s usefulness.
Industry experts acknowledged the tool’s effectiveness, but felt the FTI could be better utilised if it was aligned with the needs and priorities of corporations. By using wellbeing metrics as proxy indicators of risk, the FTI could complement the compliance and risk management approaches used by companies to manage their supply chains. Given procurement teams’ crucial role in forecasting risks and prioritising supply chain concerns, corporates suggested sharing the FTI with procurement teams as well as sustainability teams.
Cooperatives, funders and industry partners were interested in further segmentation of results, for example by farmers’ household size, farm size, geographic sub-regions or other income sources.
It was suggested to change the living income dimension from consumption metrics to living standards, such as access to clean water, sanitation and education, as a simpler measure of wellbeing.
The future for the FTI
There are several options for how the FTI might be taken forward. Stakeholders noted interest in conducting FTI studies in other value chains such as rice, sugarcane, nuts, and cotton for the garment industry. Industry partners are interested in using the FTI as a risk assessment tool by using wellbeing metrics as indicators of risk. Cooperatives are interested in conducting the FTI for another 3-5 years to gather actionable feedback and understand areas of improvement. The multiannual period would allow them to account for fluctuations in global coffee prices and climate shocks.
60 Decibels is already including aspects from the FTI in some of its other studies. Some 60 Decibels clients are requesting wellbeing questions in their surveys, having seen their usefulness in this research. There is an opportunity to reframe the tool as an assessment of supply chain risk in coffee and other value chains.
We are excited to see how the Farmer Thriving Index is developed and used to help track and improve the wellbeing of farmers in the future.
Coffee seedlings under shades at the Gikomero Coffee Washing Station, Gikomero, Rwanda. Photo: Finola Mohan, Small Foundation, 30/08/2024
