Aldea Coffee S.A.

Development impacts

• Local economic growth

  Net export effects
  Support to the coffee sector that is economically and socially crucial to Nicaragua, as a top 5 export product contributing over 20% of agricultural GDP and providing about half of all agricultural jobs in the country.

  Promote an inclusive export-oriented association that is a leading exporter of coffee in Nicaragua, sourcing coffee from SHF, of which 38% is certified.

  Support local-value-added creation through increasing processing capacities and standards - exporting from 60% to 85% of speciality coffee, as well as through improvements in agricultural practices and better services for its members.

• Private sector consolidation/innovation

  Know-how and technology transfer
  Aldea Coffee will be able to increase the standardisation and quality of the finished product by improving post-harvest handling, increasing efficiency, preparation, and transformation of cherry coffee to golden grain. The processing plant will include machinery not common in Nicaragua and will be automatised, which will improve efficiency in the production.

  Market structuring effects
  This project is expected to increase the standardisation and quality of the finished product by improving post-harvest handling, increasing efficiency, preparation, and transformation of cherry coffee to golden grain.
  The use of state-of-the-art information technology with sensors will allow different coffee bean drying profiles to match buyers' preferences, allowing Aldea to sell the coffee at a better price.
  Value chain integration as new wet mill technology allows integrating management of the coffee processing from cherry to green coffee beans for export, bringing innovation to the coffee processing in the region and to the associates.

• Food security & rural development

  Improve economic opportunities for up to 30,000 smallholder farmers with positive indirect effects on the local economic activity.

  Large range of services to members i.e., working capital loans through its microfinance segment, sale of agricultural inputs, commercialization of coffee, and technical assistance.

  Aldea Cert provides technical assistance and trainings to coffee producers with the main objectives of improving coffee productivity and quality, which in turn improve the income of the producer and its competitiveness. Also created a high-tech app that allows to identify diseases and how to treat them and for adaptation to climate change.

• Promotion of ESG best practices

  Promotion of good social practices
  BIO's ESAP will require Aldea to take actions to improve some aspects related to labour, working conditions and health and safety. Aldea also has an internal certification process that promotes best practices and is aligned with external Fairtrade and Rainforest alliance certifications. They are promoting this certification with a small economic incentive on the coffee price and are currently at 60% of the total associates producing coffee. They also promote organic certification (around 10%) but the growth is dependent on the market for organic coffee