Exceptional coffee reserves spark of live for West Java Farmers

Preange’s Malabar volcanic soils, situated in hilltops reaching 1,200 meters, produces some of the best coffee in the world. Preange’s unique flavour landscape is punchy, earthy and musty, and is known by coffee connoisseurs as one of the finest aged coffees in the world. As a single origin coffee, Preange coffee presents a huge potential to Western pallets, where single origin coffees reach a higher premium price than generic coffees.

If the single origin market for Preange coffee is developed, buyer companies would be able to improve the lives of thousands of smallholder farmers in this rural area of Bandung district in West Java.

SNV Indonesia partners with Starbucks Reserve and Daarnhouwer Coffee Co. to carry out a pilot project in the Preange area to improve the quality and production of Preange coffee. Starbuck’s goal is to sell Preange coffee as a “Starbuck’s Reserve”, a brand of rare and exotic single origin coffee produced in small batches that is sold by Starbucks.

With its experience and expertise working with local people, SNV aims to assist poor farmers to improve their capacities and link them directly to Starbucks Reserve and Daarnhouwer. SNV brings our inclusive business approach and knowledge of the international coffee sector to create impact at the farm level for smallholder farmers.

Starting with the coffee farmers and ending with the Starbucks Reserve consumer

Coffee production levels in West Java are still low compared to other main coffee producer such as Lampung, North Sumatera and North Sulawesi. Based on SNV’s initial assessment, the problem is the insufficient care for the coffee trees: infrequent pruning, low levels of fertilization, and poor harvest techniques.

Many of the smallholder coffee farmers are from families who have been coffee farming for several generations and are still using traditional agricultural techniques learned from their elders.

This project will focus to improve agricultural practices, upgrade pulping stations to minimize damage pre-harvest and improve drying facility with more hygienic patios or using small solar dryers. Demo plots will be built to show case good agricultural practices such as fertilization, proper use of shade trees, pruning and weeding.

The project is targeting to empower 1.200 farmers, which is spread over 24 forest villagers groups (LMDH). It will also strengthen and add value to the existing supply chain actors for the long term.

With increasing prospective international coffee markets for Preange single origin, the Provincial Government of West Java have tried to revive the Preange coffee sector, and enable Preange coffee as one of the best coffees in the world.

To do that, coffee production needs to be sustainable if it is expected to generate income and improve the lives of West Java farmers. By providing trainings to improve agricultural practices, SNV intends to increase the quality of Preange coffee.

Currently, SNV Indonesia is also implementing an Inclusive Coffee Market project with funding from the Ford Foundation. The project links private sector partners directly with coffee producers to improve production, quality and marketing. The project aims to improve the livelihoods of 4,000 coffee farmer families and develop successful models that can be replicated elsewhere in Indonesia.

SNV’s Agriculture sector offers a suite of 11 innovative and complementary solutions for smallholders, addressing systemic challenges in Food & Nutrition Security, Sustainable Markets, Climate Smart Agriculture and Gender & Youth in Agriculture. We work across a range of commodities, with a particular focus on eight: coffee, cacao, dairy, livestock, horticulture, cassava, oil palm and rice.