A report from the GIZ-INA event in Berlin
Earlier this month, on the 4th and 5th of May, our Beyco Senior Product Owner, Federica Marra participated in the Coffee Sustainability Dialogue. This event, organized by GIZ-INA, took place in Berlin, Germany, and attracted more than 120 national and international representatives from the coffee industry.
Federica specifically participated in the discussion on Transparency and traceability (also) in terms of regulation. This discussion was held in the form of market stalls, which all participants can visit one after the other. Next to Beyco, there were 8 other teams presenting their approaches for more transparency in the coffee supply chain.
According to Federica, the key takeaways from the discussion were related to how to trust the data in the coffee market, especially taking into account that transparency does not always equal credibility. The key to this is creating networks of trust, combined with verification.
As Federica mentioned: ´It was great to see that many people within the coffee sector are looking into alternative ways for coffee trading, and how the work that Progreso does (between platforms and knowledge building) is actually pretty aligned and even a kind of a frontrunner within the sector.´
Another question heard multiple times is how producer companies can effectively have the room to maneuver while they find themselves situated in commodity training. Federica explained that at Beyco we offer additional services that give producer companies more negotiation options and thus power. Additionally, Progreso gives them financial training and access to knowledge sharing, contributing to a better negotiation position with other players. This allows the producer organizations to get out of the traditional trading chain which is mostly made up of middlemen and therefore reach more and different markets.
She also explained that Progreso supports the producer organizations in becoming more sustainable organizations and therefore be able to also better support the farmers. Furthermore, farmers are empowered due to the fact that also they can check their profiles and see the data that is collected around them.
For more info, please check the event website
For more info on out Beyco platform, please see the Beyco website
Pictures by ©Yasmine Azafzaf
