Nescafé Surpasses Regenerative Agriculture Goal

Nescafé, Nestlé’s largest coffee brand, sourced 32% of its coffee from farmers using regenerative agriculture practices in 2024, exceeding its original 2025 target of 20%, according to the latest Nescafé Plan 2030 Progress Report.

The initiative supports coffee farmers adopting methods such as optimized fertilization, soil cover, mulching, and composting to improve productivity while lowering costs. These practices also contribute to greenhouse gas emissions reductions, with participating farmers achieving a 20% to 40% decrease in emissions per kilogram of green coffee.

Coffee farmers worldwide faced climate-related challenges in 2024, including adverse weather in key producing countries. These disruptions contributed to record-high global prices for arabica and robusta coffee and reduced coffee availability, highlighting the need for more resilient supply chains.

Axel Touzet, Head for the Coffee Brands Strategic Business Unit, Nestlé, said regenerative agriculture is central to building resilience in the coffee supply chain. “This third Progress Report shows that farmers are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of these practices, as shown by the increased adoption rates,” he stated.

Aging coffee trees naturally yield less and are more vulnerable to climate impacts. To address this, Nescafé continued its coffee plantlet program in 2024, distributing 21 million plantlets to support yield improvement and climate adaptation.

The Nescafé Plan currently covers more than 400,000ha of coffee farmland. Last year, over 1,400 field staff and agronomists trained more than 200,000 coffee farmers across 16 countries in regenerative agriculture topics including soil erosion, organic matter management, and optimized fertilization.

The report highlights partnerships with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and TechnoServe. GIZ’s Coffee++ Project uses the Farmer Business Schools approach to train farmers on improving yields, household incomes, and business skills through diversification and regenerative methods.

TechnoServe’s study supports the financial and environmental benefits of regenerative agriculture. The analysis estimates that an annual investment of US$500-600 million could generate over US$2 billion in additional farmer income, increase coffee exports by up to US$2.6 billion, and abate up to 3.5Mt of CO2e emissions.

Paul Stewart, Director, TechnoServe’s Global Coffee, noted that regenerative agriculture is not only good for nature, but essential for farmer livelihoods and the future of the coffee industry. The study also suggests positive impacts on soil health, water conservation, biodiversity, and local economies.

Through the Nescafé Plan and its partnerships, Nestlé continues to support coffee farmers and promote a more sustainable and resilient coffee supply chain for the future.