United States Launches “Resilient Coffee” to Support Indonesian Coffee Farmers

JAKARTA – Today, the U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced the launch of the Indonesia Coffee Enterprise Resilience Initiative (Resilient Coffee), a new partnership with U.S. beverage company Keurig Dr Pepper and Root Capital, a U.S. NGO,  to provide credit to agricultural enterprises in rural communities.  Coffee farming communities in Indonesia face overlapping crises as market volatility, climate change, and gender inequity pose critical challenges to rural communities and agricultural enterprises.  To address these issues, Resilient Coffee will support 14 coffee enterprises across Aceh, East Java, and North Sumatra, reaching 14,000 smallholder farmers as it promotes sustainable growth that balances economic needs with environmental sustainability.

“A lack of business management skills and access to credit impedes coffee enterprises from harnessing farmers’ full potential for growth,” said USAID Indonesia Mission Director Jeff Cohen.  “USAID’s collaboration with Root Capital and Keurig Dr Pepper will expand public-private capacity and commitment to strengthening and increasing inclusive economic growth, as well as prioritizing investment in women’s economic empowerment and building resilience against climate change.”

USAID will leverage its local expertise to help Root Capital build smallholder resilience by expanding access to finance for farmers and small coffee enterprises that lack access to credit and business education.  The partners will also capitalize on Keurig Dr Pepper’s private sector leadership and Root Capital’s experience with coffee enterprises to help businesses strengthen their resilience through financing and training.  The program will work with businesses to strengthen gender equity and social inclusion practices while implementing new digital solutions to improve the management and resilience of coffee enterprises.  Finally, the partners will strengthen climate action in the coffee industry, with a focus on mitigating climate change, protecting vulnerable ecosystems, and supporting rural communities to adapt to climate impacts.

“Root Capital has been a long-time believer in public-private partnerships to tackle the intersecting challenges facing our world,” said Willy Foote, Founder and CEO of Root Capital. “We have worked with Keurig Dr Pepper and USAID on a number of exciting projects in the past, and we are particularly excited for the potential to launch this new project working directly with the USAID Indonesia mission.  The USAID Indonesia team adds even more local expertise, allowing us to go even further in support of our clients in rural communities.”

Keurig Dr Pepper’s SVP & Chief Sustainability Officer, Monique Oxender, agrees with the approach, further adding, “Keurig Dr Pepper has a deep-rooted commitment to improve livelihoods, safeguard the future of coffee and help coffee growers build resiliency to climate and economic impacts.  It is through the power of collective action and our long-standing partners USAID and Root Capital that we are able to invest in impactful and innovative solutions that help address the challenges smallholder coffee growers are facing.”

This new partnership will accelerate inclusive economic growth in the face of global climate change and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, while expanding public-private capacity and investing in women’s economic empowerment.

For more information, visit https://www.usaid.gov/indonesia or contact USAID Communications Specialist Swiny Andina at +62 (21) 5083-1000 or sandina@usaid.gov.

About USAID
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the lead U.S. Government agency that works to promote and demonstrate democratic values and advance a free, peaceful and prosperous world. Through international development programs and disaster assistance, USAID’s partnerships for inclusive development unlock solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges, advance economic prosperity, promote resilience, and improve lives.

About Root Capital
Root Capital invests in the growth of agricultural enterprises so they can transform rural communities. These businesses purchase crops such as coffee, cocoa, or grains from smallholder farmers. With growth, they become engines of impact that can raise incomes, create jobs, empower women and young people, sustain peace, and preserve vulnerable ecosystems. We supply these businesses with vital resources: access to capital, trade and technical partners, financial training and conservation practices. We work in hard-to-serve geographies where others don’t. To date, we’ve distributed $1.5 billion to improve the lives of nine million people in farming communities.

About Keurig Dr Pepper
Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) is a leading beverage company in North America, with annual revenue approaching $13 billion and approximately 27,000 employees. KDP holds leadership positions in soft drinks, specialty coffee and tea, water, juice and juice drinks and mixers, and markets the #1 single serve coffee brewing system in the U.S. and Canada. The Company’s portfolio of more than 125 owned, licensed and partner brands is designed to satisfy virtually any consumer need, any time, and includes Keurig®, Dr Pepper®, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters®, Canada Dry®, Snapple®, Bai®, Mott’s®, CORE® and The Original Donut Shop®. Through its powerful sales and distribution network, KDP can deliver its portfolio of hot and cold beverages to nearly every point of purchase for consumers. The Company is committed to sourcing, producing and distributing its beverages responsibly through its Drink Well. Do Good. corporate responsibility platform, including efforts around circular packaging, efficient natural resource use and supply chain sustainability. For more information, visit www.keurigdrpepper.com.