Paulo Ferreira Junior wears his love for the coffee on his skin: On his upper arm he has had the image of a coffee plant tattooed that grows out of a cup. The brown bean played a leading role in his life early on. It comes from the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, the largest coffee growing region in the world. His parents' coffee farm is also located where he grew up.

In Minas Gerais, the coffee determines the rhythm of life and the seasons. The harvests stretch for weeks, then the coffee cherrys must be harvested, depulsed, dried in time. However, traditional certainties are coming up because of the climate crisis. It rains too much or at the wrong time, or it does not rain at all. The frost comes more often than before, the extreme heat damages the sensitive plants.

Traveling all over Latin America

Paulo sees this all over Latin America: After a manager at the Fairtrade coffee cooperative Coopfam, he has been appointed Commercial Coffee Manager of the Latin American Fairtrade producer network CLAC. In this function, he supports all Fairtrade-certified coffee farmers on the continent. He is often on the road, most recently in Nicaragua, Peru and at a coffee fair in Greece.

We meet him in his homeland, Minas Gerais. Here he cultivates seven hectares of coffee in the time between his travels. Like most coffee small farmers, he does not employ seasonal workers, but reaps themselves with the support of his brother and his brother-in-law. They help yourself in the countryside – and the cooperative and Fairtrade are helping too.

Fairtrade premium for climate adaptation measures

With the Fairtrade premium, the Coopfam cooperative, which still belongs to Paulo as a coffee farmer, finances consultations, training courses and climate adaptation measures. At least a quarter of the premium is reserved for measures to increase productivity, quality or adaptation to climate change. In addition, the Fairtrade coffee prices, which were recently significantly increased in August, provide planning security for the farmers in the long term.

Paulo has a clear vision for the future of coffee: “If we want to continue to have quality coffee in the future, it must be grown in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner, in harmony with nature,” he says. “We need more mixed areas with coffee and forests, more agroforestry, where trees and shrubs provide shade.” He uses these methods in his farm himself.

The Brazilian is convinced that Fairtrade is part of the solution. That is why he continues to travel around the world to experience the needs of the coffee farmers on the one hand, and to promote Fairtrade coffee on the other. Soon we will go to Japan, to a coffee fair. And then back home. After Minas Gerais.