Women make up the majority of the labor force on coffee farms, yet are often excluded from leadership positions and land ownership. Many face barriers to market access, financing, and training while carrying the double burden of farm work and household care. Even more problematic is when women do own their farms, research shows that they receive far less revenue for their coffee.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has stated that, “just giving women the same access as men to agricultural resources could increase production on women’s farms in developing countries by 20 to 30 percent. This could raise total agricultural production in developing countries by 2.5 to 4 percent, which could, in turn, reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12 to 17 percent.”
Not only would women coffee producers benefit from equal access to markets and agricultual resources, studies have shown that women reinvest up to 90% of their earnings back into their households - that's money spent on food, healthcare, and education - helping to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty for their families and communities.
This is why Cafecita works specifically with women producers to ensure they receive their fair share of the profits and that gender equality is respected at every stage of production. This empowerment leads to better outcomes for families and communities, and the beans consistently score higher in quality.
The full FAO statement is available here.
To read more about our specific coffees and the impact on our women producers, please visit Our Coffee Producers page.
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