The issue:

The coffee production sector faces significant challenges, including the impact of climate change, limited value addition, and increasingly complex regulations. These issues disproportionately affect smallholder farmers, who form a major portion of the 25 million people involved with the sector globally. They also have a negative effect on the broader agri-business value chain, threatening the livelihoods of millions. Addressing these challenges requires comprehensive solutions that go beyond traditional approaches. 

UNIDO is driving transformative change by introducing resilient seed varieties, facilitating funding and private sector investment opportunities and deploying cutting-edge  solutions to increase efficiency and market access. Technological innovations are key to fostering advanced coffee processing techniques, and creating traceability systems that ensure transparency and compliance with regulations. Data-driven decision-making, supported by scientific insights and digital technologies, can empower stakeholders throughout the coffee supply chain, creating a more resilient and sustainable ecosystem. UNIDO’s efforts in this area also contribute to helping Member States achieve progress in implementing the 2030 agenda, specifically SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure) and SDG 17 (Partnerships). 

This session will explore the critical role of partnerships, technology transfer, and private sector solutions in addressing these challenges. By embracing digital technologies and resilient practices, the coffee value chain can enhance efficiency, sustainability, and resilience, ensuring long-term prosperity for millions of coffee farmers and businesses. 

Objectives:

This session is dedicated to exploring the transformative power of digital innovations, driven with and by the private sector, and solutions in food processing, manufacturing and supply chains, focusing on the role of smallholder farmers, small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the technology industry in the coffee sector. It aims to:  

• Highlight technological trends, solutions and opportunities: Identify and discuss major technological innovations that can serve as game-changers in reducing the manufacturing and compliance costs and strengthen agri-food value chains - ultimately ending hunger by 2030.  

• Focus on innovative interventions to expand market access: Discuss how solutions like the establishment of ad hoc excellence centers such as the Coffee Training Center and the Center for Circular Economy in Coffee can help SFH and MSMEs with product compliance, increasing market access, value addition, dealing with the impact of climate change and economic constraints. 

Key guiding questions:

• How can technologies and concrete solutions help smallholder farmers and SMEs in low- and middle-income countries address climate change, low productivity, and regulatory compliance (e.g. EUDR/deforestation)?  

• What are the major barriers to adopting these solutions and how can they be overcome? 

• What roles do governments, private sectors, international organizations and NGOs play in supporting the creation of an enabling environment for businesses and promoting impactful transformation?  

Expected outcomes:

1. Showcasing scalable high-impact digital and innovative solutions: Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of cutting-edge digital technologies and innovation strategies, and their potential for agri-business development. 
2. Opportunities for growth, collaboration and investment: The session will highlight potential for upscaling solutions for attracting investments and boosting public private partnerships for a sustainable transformation of the coffee sector. 
3. Practical lessons and best practices for implementation:  Attendees will walk away with actionable lessons from the private sector on how to integrate digital, and other, technologies into agri-business. The session will spotlight real-world examples of successful implementation, offering participants a roadmap for applying these innovations to their own operations.  

Session format and structure:

The session will begin with opening remarks from key representatives, setting the stage for discussions on agri-business challenges in the coffee sector. 

The main section will feature a panel discussion that transitions from challenges to solutions. Experts will present innovative solutions for addressing climate change, low productivity, and regulatory compliance. Highlights include Google's AI-powered traceability platform and the Coffee Training Center, showcasing how public-private partnerships can drive sustainability and value addition in the coffee industry.