Healthy Soil
Farmers grow and thrive when their land is in good condition
Nourishing crops naturally
From the ground up
Soil is literally the foundation for great coffee. Its health can be improved by planting shade-giving trees on farms, tailoring fertiliser, increasing soil cover and reducing erosion. Farmer Dương Thanh Sâm knows this. “If soil is disturbed, polluted or not cared for, then plants find it difficult to survive,” he says. Sâm is a regular at our NESCAFÉ® training sessions, learning regenerative agricultural practices and techniques that help him ensure his soil stays healthy, productive and nourishing. “These sessions are extremely practical,” he affirms.
The benefits of healthy soil
Depleted soil can prevent plants from nourishing their stems and make them susceptible to pest attacks. “Coffee trees need certain conditions to grow well,” explains Sâm. “These include having healthy soil with adequate nutrients and moisture.” It’s all about getting the balance right, and if this is achieved, then productivity goes up. “The healthier the soil, the better the chance of a stronger coffee yield,” he says. This also helps farmers to cut down on the number of required resources.
Sharing knowledge
When it comes to the knowledge and skills he has acquired, Sâm plans to pay it forward. “I will educate the next generation on the importance of building a solid foundation from the very beginning,” he mentions. “And that foundation is healthy soil.” He’s very positive about what tomorrow holds. “I am grateful. Growing coffee binds me closer to this land,” he smiles. “It makes me feel optimistic about the future of the farm, my family and the community.”
Working with Nature
Working with Nature
Working with coffee farmers to boost incomes, strengthen communities and ensure the prosperity of the coffee industry.
Farming Smarter
Regenerative agriculture helps to restore and enhances the ecosystems while also improving the livelihoods of farmers.
Natural crop nourishing
Healthy soil ensures a brighter agricultural future through environmental economic viability.
Growing coffee in harmony
Biodiversity is the variety of species of plants, animals and insects in a habitat and how they interact together.
Diverse Crop Cultivation
Intercropping is growing more than one type of crop. It helps control pests and maintain moisture and nutrients.
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Biodiversity
The benefits are rich and rewarding
Growing coffee in harmony
A conscious coexistence
We are working alongside farmers across the globe, encouraging them to farm in ways that embrace the benefits of biodiversity. By harnessing the collective contribution made through integrating various plants, animals, insects and microorganisms as a by-product of regenerative agricultural practices, farmers can support in creating a more diverse ecosystem on their farms. For example, certain species of birds will eat insects that would otherwise damage crops.
In Vietnam some farmers practice intercropping, introducing different varieties of plants and crops in their coffee farms. One of the benefits of this is that the plants are attracting insects like bees that work with the environment to improve pollination, helping produce an ecosystem that contributes to improving the quality of their harvest. By carefully engineering and maintaining this coexistence, farmers find themselves with balanced, thriving farms.
Attracting life
Some of the changes farmers like Dương Thanh Sâm has made in Vietnam include intercropping and using water more carefully. He’s also noticed how these practices attract animals and microorganisms to his farm, and he’s aware of the important roles they play in maintaining a healthy ecosystem. “I won’t cut the chili plants in my garden because they are the favourite of birds, and after eating, the birds will begin to diffuse those chilli seeds to other places,” he mentions.
Instilling awareness
After attending our training sessions, Sâm has a greater appreciation for biodiversity, and how it contributes to soil fertility and he believes potentially even an increase in the disease-resistance of plants. He now does everything he can to maintain the well-being of his plants. “We are chomping at the bit to make a difference on our farm,” he says.
Biodiverse benefits
It’s a change in approach that embraces harmony, and has far-reaching benefits. A simple example of how biodiversity practices have been applied in Dak Lak is allowing fallen leaves and grass cover to remain on the ground which helps prevent erosion, supports the soil health and creates a suitable place for microorganisms that are beneficial to farm to thrive. “My hope for the future of biodiversity is that everyone in the community will have knowledge about it,” says Sâm.
Coffee Loves Shade
Planting the right trees help coffee crops thrive
Coffee Likes Shade
Natural protection
Farmer Dương Thanh Sâm knows how important it is to shelter his crops. “Coffee trees love shade,” he says. These shade-givers help Sâm to better care for his crop as one of the methods he implements to guard them from potential damage caused by heavy rain, strong winds, erosion and excessive sunlight. Trees that provide shade can even contribute to soil health and provide organic matter that supports soil fertility and foster a balanced ecosystem. But perhaps most importantly, they prolong the natural ripening process which ultimately impacts on the quality of the yield.
Multiple benefits
Along with Sâm and other farmers around the world we host interactive training sessions where we explain the benefits of growing trees within coffee farms. This provides shade, can improve biodiversity, protect water bodies, reduce soil erosion and increase organic matter, while removing carbon from the atmosphere.
But it’s not a one size fits all solution. Here we use our scientific expertise and extensive local knowledge to find the best companion for the coffee trees in each region.
Trees for the future
Sâm sees the benefits of intercropping with shade-givers like the tall pepper tree, a species that aligns to his farm’s ecosystem. “My hope is that it will bring economic efficiency" he says. This future-focused approach excites him. “I hope that in ten years’ time, my farm – as seen from an online map – will be covered in green,” he smiles. “But for now, there are other benefits. We sit in the shade of trees to take a break and chill,” he says.
Regenerative Agriculture In Coffee
We’re helping farmers cultivate for tomorrow, today
Farming Smarter
Farming for the future
Regenerative agriculture practices protect and restore the natural resources found in nature, enhancing soil health, biodiversity, and water cycles. It introduces approaches that work with nature to reduce farming emissions, creating a win-win for the environment and for farmers.
We have shared with farmers regenerative agriculture practices and the tangible impact they have to communities and the environment. In Vietnam the adoption of these practices are just one way within which we look to support coffee farmers as they help protect and restore natural resources. Some example of these practices include optimizing the efficient use of fertilizers and agrochemicals, diversifying crops and renovating or rejuvenating farms. By implementing regenerative agriculture practices, these farmers are reducing emissions, improving the overall health of their farms.
Learning about growth
Farmer Dương Thanh Sâm has been attending the training sessions that we organise. After learning about regenerative agriculture practices, he implemented this knowledge on his farm, to support his coffee trees growing stronger and robustly. “Regenerative agriculture is an interconnected chain,” he states. “It promotes healthier soil and helps coffee plants develop more.” Find out more about our Regenerative Agriculture program here.
Steps to improve
“I previously had no knowledge of regenerative agriculture,” says Sâm. Now he takes steps to enhance his soil health to improve his coffee yield. He uses intercropping and shade trees, as well as a combination of fertilisers, including an organic one that he makes himself. “After participating in the NESCAFE® training sessions, I learned how to combine coffee skins with manure to create microbial fertiliser,” he explains. “This fertilises the soil more effectively.”
Of the earth
Sâm has an eye on tomorrow. He believes these practices create long-term benefits for his farm, have higher economic efficiencies and create impact beyond his farm’s borders. “Others who practice regenerative agriculture understands that,” he says. “It is the most suitable method to use in the future.” Find more information on our 2030 plan, here.
Intercropping
By implementing intercropping, discover how we're empowering coffee farmers like Dương Thanh Sâm to create a diverse income, keep soil healthy to help increasing his yield, and introduce greater biodiversity.
Intercropping: Enhancing Coffee Farming through Diverse Crop Cultivation
In Vietnam, we’re empowering farmers with knowledge. By advising them on intercropping – the practice of growing two or more crops in close proximity – they are able to diversify income and increase total income. The right crop selection can increase some farmer’s earning potential as well as improve soil health, while reducing soil erosion and better controlling weeds.
Local farmer, Dương Thanh Sâm, attended our training sessions to master this method. After introducing pepper and durian trees, he enhanced his income while keeping the same great quality of his coffee.
By assisting farmers with innovative practices like intercropping we’re strengthening mutually beneficial collaborations. The quality of our coffee relies heavily on the expertise and dedication of the farmers who contribute to its production. We share insights not just to grow more crops. We do it to grow the skills and help their livelihoods linked to their land.
Crop rotation
Implementing regenerative farming practices like crop rotation in coffee farming can lead to increased yields, disease resistance, healthier soils, and reduced erosion.1
Thriving together
Intercropping stands as one of multiple ways to implement regenerative coffee farming; where diverse crops coexist harmoniously in shared fields and biodiversity. Through this approach, farmers help in enriching soil, making it easier to control pests, and fortifying crop resilience.
Why intercropping?
Farmers intercrop for diverse benefits: crop resilience, enhancing soil water holding capacity, soil fertility, income, and more.2
What does Intercropping mean to us?
In vibrant Vietnam, intercropping echoes our pledge to regenerative agriculture practices. Embracing diverse crops, we empower farmers to have more diversified and resilient income and fostering biodiversity. Through our collaboration with farmers and communities, we aim to produce quality coffee while helping Vietnamese farmers protect the country's rich biodiversity. Join us in this journey!
- The Nestle Agriculture Framework:https://www.nestle.com/sites/default/files/2022-07/nestle-agriculture-framework.pdf
- Benefits and Risks of Intercropping for Crop Resilience and Pest Management:https://academic.oup.com/jee/article/115/5/1350/6572575
Closing The Loop
Helping renew the world of coffee with every cup
We're dedicated to helping farmers develop more regenerative farming practices
Powering you and powering our factories
Creating a better future for coffee means finding more ways to use spent coffee beans. By converting it into biofuel, we’ve managed to lower our carbon footprint at many of our factories – preventing 195 000 tonnes of carbon from being released into the atmosphere every year.1
Biofuel is renewable energy source made from natural materials; in our case it’s made from coffee grounds or coffee by products, which we then use to help partly power our steam boilers, and also to help keep the lights on at 7 of our 8 factories around the world.
Every drop of water makes an impact
We’re helping farmers in Vietnam to cut water use in irrigation by 40% through more efficient regenerative farming practices such as reducing the amount of water run off, pooling and evaporation after watering. This benefits the farmers directly by reducing their water bills and benefits surrounding communities by giving them access to more water.2
CIRCULAR ECONOMIES
Making high-quality coffee requires time, energy and resources. That’s why we’re constantly looking for ways to build more circular economies where waste is reduced and wherever possible raw materials are reused - especially when it comes to using natural resources.
At local farms, we’re helping to improve irrigation techniques which can reduce water usage while maintaining productivity. At our Tri An factory in Bien Hoa (Dong Nai province) we are using coffee grounds as biofuel to partially power our boilers and lights.
We're also training farmers to introduce diverse and regenerative farming techniques, including the planting of additional tree species at coffee farms. These methods not only enhance soil health but also reduce the need for chemical fertilizers.
Reducing water usage and reducing waste production, but still making quality coffee. It’s a dream for coffee lovers – but it’s a reality for us, and one we’re taking seriously. Together, we can support coffee farmers to run more efficient, more economical farms and in so doing, help build a more sustainable future for coffee, for everyone.3
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Discover how Nescafé is sourcing coffee responsibly
What does «responsibly sourced» mean in our value chain?
It means that our coffee is traceable to the group of farms where it was grown, and that defined social and environmental practices are incorporated into the process of coffee farmers and coffee suppliers.
Working together
Our coffee is traceable to the group of farms where it was grown and verified in accordance to sustainability standards from independent certifier programmes.
At Nescafé, we work with various external programmes who are independent third-party organizations, such as 4C, Rainforest Alliance, which have established their own publicly available sustainability standards.
The sustainability standards of the external programmes we work with, meet our Nestlé Responsible Sourcing Core Requirements, that encompass various aspects of coffee farming, including social and environmental practices, for example farmer's working conditions, optimizing soil fertilizers, among others.
Taking actions with purpose
We are taking actions to continue supporting coffee farmers in their communities wherever they are, so that they can improve their lands & livelihoods. Here below some examples of initiatives:
- • Supporting coffee farm renovation for better resilience and quality, by distributing over 290 million coffee plantlets since 2010.
- • Through more than 800 agronomists and across 16 countries, enabling more than 148’000* coffee farmer trainings every year to improve their farming practices.
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Growing With Coffee
Leading the way and inspiring others
We pay tribute to those who are making their mark with passion, drive and determination
Hear Lan’s passion for the coffee-making process
Phung Thi Ha Lan believes engineering can make a difference. Always keen to learn and progress, she didn’t think twice when offered the opportunity to help build the Tri An NESCAFÉ® Roastery. “During the design phase for the factory, we already considered sustainability in our process,” she says. Now the Industrial Service Manager in the Engineering Department, her roles and responsibilities include taking care of maintenance operations, and improvements to the system.
Solutions-driven and passionate about everything she does, Lan is incredibly close to her team, and on a constant mission to keep them inspired. This passion goes beyond the workplace. She often hosts knowledge-sharing sessions with university students where they discuss the purpose of engineering. In addition to explaining how the factory operates, she encourages these young women to explore more technical careers and become part of the next generation of engineers.
A mother of three, Lan understands the importance of work-life balance. She makes every effort to spend quality time with her kids, using these opportunities to tell them about her work, and how she’s contributing to a better future. “I explain to them, in a simple way, how we care about sustainability, because they also learn about environmental protection in school,” she says. Once, after doing this, one of her children announced a desire to become an engineer too. “I felt very proud,” smiles Lan.
"In addition to learning how to be a better farmer, I learn about business* to improve the lives of my family and my community."
Farming methods evolve over time, and nobody knows this more than Tran Thi Lien. A second generation farmer, she studied regenerative agricultural practices to make her farm more successful. She learnt techniques that reduced time and labour, and adopted intercropping, introducing plants that increase her farm’s productivity. The results were transformative, and now her farm functions as a business. “I have increased the efficiency of land use, thereby increasing my family's income,” she says.
Tran Thi Lien's deep knowledge helped her secure additional work as a lead farmer. She shares technical support and encouragement, inspiring others in her community to adopt regenerative agriculture practices. “The first thing is to introduce knowledge,” she says, believing that this will help other farmers prosper too.
Lien has noticed a positive change in lifestyle among her fellow farmers. She believes that by employing regenerative agriculture practices, they are farming more efficiently. “They have more time to spend with their families,” she says. These advanced methods have also contributed to farmers producing higher yields, leading to greater prosperity. “I'm so proud. I'm very happy,” she smiles. “Not only can I help myself, but I can also help the others.”
Better blends for a better world
Discover our diverse range of sustainable coffees to suite your taste.
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*Through the Nescafé partnership with GIZ’s Coffee++ program, farmers participate in a five-day intensive course designed to help them run their farms as businesses. NESCAFE Plan 2023, page 13: https://www.nestle.com/sites/default/files/2024-05/nescafe-plan-2030-progress-report-2023.pdf
Pack to the Future
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recyclable jarrecyclable jar
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made with responsibly sourced coffeemade with responsibly sourced coffee
NESCAFÉ® Classic
Your NESCAFÉ® jar's journey doesn't end when the coffee does. The jar is recyclable, making it a little easier to make a difference. Glass is infinitely recyclable, and the plastic lids can be recycled separately.
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recyclable jarrecyclable jar
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made with responsibly sourced coffeemade with responsibly sourced coffee
NESCAFÉ® GOLD
Your NESCAFÉ® jar's journey doesn't end when the coffee does. The jar is recyclable, making it a little easier to make a difference. Glass is infinitely recyclable, and the plastic lids can be recycled separately.
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97%less packaging weight*less packaging weight*
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made with responsibly sourced coffeemade with responsibly sourced coffee
NESCAFÉ® GOLD Soft Pack
NESCAFÉ® GOLD is now available in 150g soft packs, perfect for refilling your glass jar. These recyclable packs use 97% less packaging. *compared to our glass jars, with a resealable top to preserve the freshness and taste NESCAFÉ® is known for.
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mono-structured plasticmono-structured plastic
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designed to recycledesigned to recycle
NESCAFÉ® 3in1
Our new mono-structure sachets only use one type of plastic, so they’re designed for recycling, yet they keep your coffee just as fresh as before. It's the same great coffee, but in new packs that are easier to recycle.
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recyclable metal tinrecyclable metal tin
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made with responsibly sourced coffeemade with responsibly sourced coffee
NESCAFÉ® Roastery
Did you know that our Roastery metal tin and lid are recyclable? And this packaging helps to perfectly preserve NESCAFÉ®'s flavour, colour and aroma. So, enjoy your NESCAFÉ® and remember to give your tin a second life!
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95%made of papermade of paper
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made with responsibly sourced coffeemade with responsibly sourced coffee
NESCAFÉ® Cappuccino
We're excited to present our delicious cappuccino coffee, topped with a creamy long-lasting froth, now in a brand new paper tin pack, which is recyclable as it's made of 95% paper. Now you can have your NESCAFÉ®, and help make a difference too!
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80%recycled alluminiumrecycled alluminium
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made with responsibly sourced coffeemade with responsibly sourced coffee
NESCAFÉ® Farmers Origins Capsules
Why do we make our capsules with aluminium? Because it's recyclable and it retains our coffee's freshness and taste. At least 80% of the aluminium in NESCAFÉ® Farmers Origins coffee capsules is of recycled origin. That's good for coffee drinkers and the world.