The Hispanic Federation, together with the Miranda Family, today announced the launch of a five-year initiative to revitalize Puerto Rico’s coffee sector. The founding partners include Hispanic Federation, Nespresso, The Rockefeller Foundation, Starbucks, TechnoServe, and World Coffee Research, all of which are committed to supporting smallholder coffee farmers on the island.
The Hispanic Federation has made the first investment of $1 million. Nespresso has also committed $1 million, and The Rockefeller Foundation has given $500k. The Starbucks Foundation has given $470k, and Starbucks also donated 2 million high quality, climate-resilient coffee seeds. TechnoServe, an international non-profit with a long history of work in the coffee sector, will lead implementation of the program with a Puerto Rican-led team.
These investments address the critical needs facing the Puerto Rican coffee industry, which was decimated after hurricanes in 2017 destroyed 80 percent of the coffee trees on the island. This initiative evolved out of a Task Force that was formed after Hurricane Maria, and currently includes Hispanic Federation, Starbucks, World Coffee Research, farmers, academics and other public and private partners, seeking to revitalize Puerto Rico’s coffee sector.
“By investing in this long-term initiative, we aim to help Puerto Rico’s farmers rebuild their farms and strengthen their industry,” said Guillaume Le Cunff, President and CEO of Nespresso USA. “Nespresso has spent decades working directly with farmers to revive and build sustainable coffee sectors in regions around the world, and we have seen first-hand the transformative power coffee can have on improving farmer livelihoods, fostering economic development and ultimately rebuilding communities.”
