Women form the majority of the world’s estimated 25 million coffee farmers, yet coffee is seen as a men’s crop. A sustainable supply of good quality and sufficient quantity of coffee for mainstream and specialty markets is often hampered by unequal distribution of information, labor, other resources and benefits within the coffee farming families. Women do much of the production activities, men tend to benefit more from training in sustainable coffee practices, inputs, income and other benefits derived from coffee sales.
This unequal distribution leads to many inefficiencies in the coffee chain, and hampers the development of the coffee sector in general, and production in particular.
In many producing countries, average age of coffee farmers is increasing. Youth are not motivated to stay in coffee, face lack of ownership of land, coffee trees, access to training and finance, and benefits derived
from coffee. As a result they leave the rural areas, looking for employment in towns. Continuation of coffee production by the “next generation” is therefore at stake, and poses a great risk for the coffee sector as a whole.
Coffee is, and likely will remain, an important cash and export crop. It is therefore important to address the challenges related to inclusiveness, encouraging youth to start working in the sector and providing social and economic empowerment for women. To do this, both men and women of different age groups need to be supported in grasping opportunities.
This toolkit provides a range of approaches and tools that have been tried and tested. They can lead to considerable improvements in coffee quality and increase in coffee quantity, besides supporting more gender equality and youth involvement.
Wanawake ndio wengi kati ya wakulima wa kahawa duniani, lakini kahawa ni mazao ya wanaume. Utoaji endelevu wa ubora mzuri na wingi wa kahawa kwa masoko ya kawaida na maalum mara nyingi huzuia kwa usambazaji usio sawa wa habari, kazi, rasilimali zingine na faida ndani ya familia za wakulima wa kahawa. Wanawake hufanya shughuli nyingi za uzalishaji, wanaume hufaidika zaidi na mafunzo katika mazoea endelevu ya kahawa, viingilio, mapato na faida zingine zinazotokana na mauzo ya kahawa. Ugawaji huu usio sawa husababisha ukosefu mwingi wa ufanisi katika mlolongo wa kahawa, na huzuia maendeleo ya sekta ya kahawa kwa ujumla, na uzalishaji kwa ujumla. Katika nchi nyingi zinazozalisha kahawa, wastani wa umri wa wakulima wa kahawa unaongezeka. Vijana hawajachochewa kukaa katika kahawa, wanakabiliwa na ukosefu wa umiliki wa ardhi, miti ya kahawa, upatikanaji wa mafunzo na fedha, na faida zinazotokana na kahawa. Matokeo ni kwamba wao huondoka katika maeneo ya mashambani, wakitafuta kazi katika majiji. Kuendelea kwa uzalishaji wa kahawa na "kizazi kifuatacho" kwa hivyo ni hatari, na inawakilisha hatari kubwa kwa sekta ya kahawa kwa ujumla. Kahawa ni, na yaelekea itabaki, mazao muhimu ya kuuza nje na kuuza nje. Kwa hivyo ni muhimu kushughulikia changamoto zinazohusiana na ujumuishaji, kuwahimiza vijana kuanza kufanya kazi katika sekta hiyo na kutoa nguvu za kijamii na kiuchumi kwa wanawake. Ili kufanya hivyo, wanaume na wanawake wa makundi tofauti ya umri wanahitaji kuungwa mkono katika kutumia fursa. Kifaa hiki hutoa mbalimbali ya mbinu na zana ambayo wamekuwa walijaribu na kupimwa. Hii inaweza kusababisha uboreshaji mkubwa katika ubora wa kahawa na kuongezeka kwa wingi wa kahawa, pamoja na kuunga mkono usawa zaidi wa kijinsia na ushiriki wa vijana.