CAFE Amazonía Resiliente
CAFE Amazonía Resiliente is a four-year initiative (2025-2029) funded by JDE Peet’s in Peru, aimed at improving the productivity and income of 12,500 smallholder coffee farmers in the San Martín and Huánuco regions. By promoting regenerative agricultural practices, forest conservation, and access to formal markets, the project seeks to ensure a high-quality coffee supply while strengthening the resilience of farming communities.
Context
The San Martín and Huánuco regions account for 24% of Peru’s total coffee production, yet smallholder farmers face low yields due to inefficient farming practices, limited access to high-quality seedlings, and erratic weather events. Pests such as coffee leaf rust, rising input costs, and fluctuating coffee prices have further threatened the sector’s sustainability.
Due to limited technical assistance and financing, many farmers resort to practices that degrade soil health and expand cultivation into forested areas, contributing to deforestation. Between 2000 and 2023, San Martín and Huánuco lost 1.18 million hectares of forest, representing 29% of the country’s total deforestation.
The CAFE Amazonía Resiliente project seeks to reverse these trends by promoting regenerative farming techniques, improving access to financing, and strengthening local capacities. Aligned with international regulations, such as the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) set to take effect in 2026, the project will enable Peruvian coffee farmers to access high-value markets while increasing their competitiveness.
Additionally, the initiative places a strong emphasis on empowering women in decision-making and leadership roles within the coffee value chain, ensuring they have access to resources and economic opportunities for their development.
Opportunity
CAFE Amazonía Resiliente presents a strategic opportunity to enhance the sustainability of Peru’s coffee value chain. Through the training of 12,500 farmers, the project aims to improve coffee growers’ productivity, restore degraded soils, and reduce the expansion of coffee cultivation into forested areas.
A unique element of the project is, its collaborative approach—rather than providing training directly, TechnoServe will work through local sector actors, including producer organizations, cooperatives, and extension service providers. By leveraging the investment programs of the Regional Governments of San Martín and Huánuco, the project will expand training and technical assistance for farmers. With the support of regional governments, cooperatives, and key industry players, the project will strengthen producer organizations and facilitate their access to financing and international markets. By combining regenerative agricultural practices, sustainability certifications, and improved market conditions, farmers will be able to increase their income long after the project concludes.
The Strategy
To achieve its goals, CAFE Amazonía Resiliente will implement a comprehensive strategy based on:
- Training in regenerative agricultural practices – Implementation of TechnoServe’s Coffee Farm College model, teaching good agricultural practices, post-harvest management, and sustainability techniques.
- Ecosystem conservation – Establishing nurseries for disease-resistant seedlings, producing biofertilizers, and setting up vetiver grass seedbeds for wastewater treatment.
- Verification and market access – Georeferencing 12,500 farms to verify zero deforestation, ensuring access to high-value markets such as the European Union.
- Access to finance and income improvement – Strengthening producer organizations and facilitating microloans and financing for more than 2,800 farmers and organizations.
- Women’s economic empowerment – Implementing a comprehensive action plan to increase women’s participation in decision-making and leadership within the coffee sector.
- Elimination of child labor – Raising awareness and implementing strategies to create sustainable economic alternatives that eliminate the need for child labor in the coffee value chain.
The project’s close collaboration with the regional governments of San Martín and Huánuco, along with local actors, leverages existing investment programs in the coffee sector to expand training and technical assistance for farmers. This model allows the project to scale its impact efficiently while reinforcing self-reliance among local stakeholders, strengthening the long-term sustainability of Peru’s coffee value chain.
Anticipated Results
Productivity and Sustainability
- Increase 25% in average coffee yields of green coffee.
- 15,938 hectares of coffee rehabilitated, restored, or renewed.
- 28,125 fruit and forest trees planted to provide shade for the coffee and an additional income source.
- Farms will comply with zero-deforestation regulations.
Economic Impact
- 5,625 farms will increase coffee income by 25% or more.
- More than 2,800 producers and organizations will access financing.
Inclusion and Gender Equity
- 50% of farmers will report greater participation of women in household decision-making.
- 70% of women trained in leadership will strengthen their self-confidence and decision-making abilities.
