To develop the Verified Living Income methodology, a pilot study was conducted in Tolima, Colombia with 38 smallholder farmers from the ASOPEP cooperative. Leveraging Heifer International's extensive living income benchmarking expertise in the coffee industry and Sustainable Harvest's deep producer relationships, origin staff, and expertise in the coffee industry for data collection, the pilot study showed that with an average cost of production of $1.33 per pound of green (unroasted) coffee, buyers would need to pay $1.89/lb. at the farmgate and $2.24/lb. Free on Board.

"The results of the Verified Living Income pilot program highlight the need for further transparency and accountability across the coffee supply chain," said Cooperative Manager at ASOPEP, Camilo Enciso Suarez. "Identifying the key factors that impact farm profitability is powerful, and pairing that knowledge with prices based on the true cost of production can transform farmers' lives for the better."

With cooperation from stakeholders at every level of the value chain, Verified Living Income can be a path to improve farmer livelihoods through alleviating economic instability in the coffee-growing regions and creating the value necessary for coffee production to be viable for farmers — today and for future generations.

"At Sustainable Harvest, our most fundamental belief is that the traditional coffee supply chain must change, and more value needs to shift toward coffee farmers. This has been our mission for nearly 25 years and Verified Living Income now provides an additional actionable standard that more roasters can adopt. The industry has a new opportunity to discover a Living Income price that can assure a sustainable supply chain for years to come; our role will be to help them navigate how to get there," said Director of Sales at Sustainable Harvest, Monica Terveer.