G8 urged to take action over coffee farmers
Updated on 05 July 2008
The G8 has been urged to take action to help African coffee farmers finding it difficult to cope with climate change.
Fairtrade company Cafedirect said coffee farmers were reporting reductions of as much as two-fifths in their annual yields.
Producers are blaming climate change for erratic weather conditions in Africa which are causing drought, disease and reduced soil fertility.
In Latin America, coffee farmers have been hit by severe tropical storms which are destroying crops, homes and infrastructure, Cafedirect said.
The company is urging G8 countries meeting in Hokkaido, Japan, next week, to ensure increased funding to help small-scale farmers in developing countries adapt to the changes they are witnessing.
Funding to help growers adapt now is important, with fears that proposals to cut global carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2050 which will be discussed at the summit will be too little, too late for the farmers.
Willington Wamayeye, managing director of Cafedirect's coffee partner Gumutindo Coffee Co-operative in Uganda, said: "The coffee plants are badly affected - flowering is stopping.
"Last year alone we lost about 40 per cent of our coffee production because of climate change.
"As a result our people struggle for everything - food is getting more expensive and key food crops, like bananas, are being threatened as well.
"I have seen some crops completely wiped out."
Anne MacCaig, chief executive of Cafedirect, said farmers did not have the 42 years to 2050 to wait for action.
"The problems they face today need to be tackled at a global level. The G8 leaders must take decisive action," she said.
Cafedirect is calling on the G8 to provide funds for tea, coffee and cocoa farmers to adapt to the changing climate, develop ways to ensure the cash can be accessed immediately by those in developing countries who need it and step up efforts to reduce G8 carbon emissions.
© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.
These news feeds are provided by an independent third party and Channel 4 is not responsible or liable to you for the same.
