A company that netted over 9.7 billion dollars in total revenue in 2009, Starbucks is a major player in the world economic game. While all of their sourcing comes from a strictly enforced certification process through C.A.F.E., many of these producers are located in developing countries, with over 20% falling in the low income category. By securing fair wages and providing access to health care and education, Starbucks is helping to improve the lives of coffee farmers and their families worldwide.
Starbucks provides support to coffee producers through farmer support centers. The centers are designed to allow Starbucks horticulturalists and quality experts to work directly with farms to encourage responsible growing practices and improve the quality and size of their harvests. Starbucks currently has farmer support centers in Costa Rica and Guatemala that serve coffee communities throughout Central America. Their centers to support East Africa include a farmer support center in Rwanda and an office in Tanzania. Their first Asian farmer support center opened in 2012 in the Yunnan province, located in Southwestern China.
Click here to view the locations of the farmer support centers.
