Taking Root is thrilled to announce Impact at Origin, a brand-new pilot project with leading Swedish coffee brand, Arvid Nordquist, to reduce the climate impact in their Nicaragua coffee supply chain. Using Taking Root’s cutting-edge technology platform, FARM-TRACE, Taking Root will work with Arvid Nordquist and the Rainforest Alliance to deliver verified emissions reductions and removals at the farm level in Arvid Nordquist’s coffee supply chain in Nicaragua. The project has received funding from the Nordic Development Fund (Nordic Climate Facility), a challenge fund set up in 2009 to finance early-stage climate change projects in developing countries.

“It is traceable, measurable – and sustainable!” says Erica Bertilsson, Sustainability Director, at Arvid Nordquist, Sweden’s leading coffee producer with a sustainability agenda.

The approach will be based on FARM-TRACE, which is used to measure and verify forest impacts and carbon sequestration across thousands of coffee farms simultaneously. The platform does this by combining mobile, satellite imagery and machine learning data. “With the resulting information, growers are guided to practices that reduce carbon emissions. Those practices have the potential to unlock new income opportunities for farmers, and this project aims to demonstrate that. By growing trees integrated or alongside their coffee production, farmers can receive additional income for the carbon they sequester and new diversified forest products as well as stabilizing coffee yields in the face of rising temperatures.” says Will Sheldon, Commercial Director at Taking Root.

The approach will be based on FARM-TRACE, which is used to measure and verify forest impacts and carbon sequestration across thousands of coffee farms simultaneously.

The project will span over 26 months and will be carried out jointly by Arvid Nordquist, FARM-TRACE and the Rainforest Alliance. The Swedish consulting company U & We will also assist with the development of a carbon calculator to help farmers reduce their emissions.

“We combine advanced technology with traditional know-how to simultaneously help the environment and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers,” says Dr. Kahlil Baker, CEO Taking Root.

“The collaboration with actors like Arvid Nordquist and the Rainforest Alliance is helping us to test this new innovative approach, with the opportunity to scale up the project with a successful result. The support from the Nordic Development Fund (Nordic Climate Facility) shows the industry is beginning to understand the importance of putting smallholder farmers at the heart of natural climate solutions”, says Will Sheldon.

The idea behind FARM-TRACE came from the award-winning reforestation project Communitree in Nicaragua, run by Taking Root, to solve the challenges that come with monitoring smallholder farms. These farms are often geographically dispersed through remote, rural areas, making traditional approaches to monitoring and reporting cost prohibitive. Arvid Nordquist has had a far-reaching coffee collaboration in Nicaragua for more than 20 years and has also bought carbon credits from Communitree for ten years. Arvid Nordquist introduced Taking Root to their coffee partners in Nicaragua, which led to the conception of this project.

“Farming is one of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions worldwide. If we want to do something about that, it’s crucial that both technology and knowledge are accessible, implementable and context specific so that coffee farmers can take action and benefit from it”, says Dr. Martin Noponen, Director Nature, the Rainforest Alliance”.

Smallholder farmers are essential to involve in climate efforts, not only because of the collective reforestation potential of their land, but also because they are disproportionately affected by the warming that has and will continue to take place. This project strengthens their resilience to climate change without costly consultants or time-consuming reporting work, which is often an obstacle  for smallholder coffee growers.

To use FARM-TRACE, all Arvid Nordquist’ coffee partners need to do is download the mobile app, measure the perimeter of the farm, and FARM-TRACE will automatically generate sample plots to measure. In each sample plot, technicians gather basic data such as tree height and species. No internet connection is required to collect this information. FARM-TRACE then pairs the data with third party databases and satellite images, developing machine learning algorithms to automatically generate reporting on trees, forest cover and carbon sequestered on farms. Anyone with access can easily follow and control data through the web platform.

To use FARM-TRACE, all Arvid Nordquist’ coffee partners need to do is download the mobile app, measure the perimeter of the farm, and FARM-TRACE will automatically generate sample plots to measure.

“As much as 148 million tonnes of carbon dioxide could be released from the atmosphere if the entire coffee sector decided to become more climate-friendly. Taking Root, Arvid Nordquist and the Rainforest Alliance want to drive this development,” says Will Sheldon.

The goal is to be able to scale up the pilot and use the method in Arvid Nordquist’s supplier network.

“Our customers and consumers should be able to feel confident that they are contributing to a climate-friendly planet every time they drink a cup of good coffee from Arvid Nordquist. At the same time, they help small-scale coffee growers to improve their income opportunities. And they should feel secure that they themselves can check that this is true”, says Erica Bertilsson.

“This is a cutting-edge project that will take Arvid Nordquist, who is already a leader in sustainable coffee production, another step on the road to zero emissions throughout its supply chain in Nicaragua. The collaboration is proof of the company’s strong commitment to sustainability,” says Will Sheldon.

Taking Root looks forward to driving this project with Arvid Nordquist and the Rainforest Alliance, unlocking the potential of nature-based solutions with smallholder farmers. To learn more about the project, visit the project page on the Nordic Climate Facility’s website.

For questions/interview please contact:

Erica Bertilsson, Director Sustainability Arvid Nordquist, erica.bertilsson@arvidnordquist.se, +46 70 876 18 80

Will Sheldon, Commercial Director Taking Root, will@takingroot.org, +1 604 966 1329

Marcus Schaefer, Markets Transformation Manager Nordics Rainforest Alliance, mschaefer@ra.org, +46 73 767 25 68[:]