(Track 8: Sustainable Rice Initiative and Low-Carbon Agriculture)
This session will explore how these evolving approaches can help future-proof coffee value chains. It will highlight practical experiences from producers, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders who are integrating resilience, value addition, and market innovation into their business models.
By examining both challenges and emerging solutions, the discussion aims to identify pathways that strengthen farmer livelihoods while ensuring long-term sustainability and competitiveness for the global coffee sector.
Opening
- Sunae Kim, Senior Natural Resources and Agriculture Specialist, ADB
- Tushna Dora, Senior Investment Specialist, ADB
- Gi Un Kim, Natural Resources and Agriculture Economist, ADB
Overview – Investing in the Future of Coffee and Empowering the next Generation of Coffee Entrepreneurs
Thiet Nguyen, Viet Nam Country Director for Rainforest Alliance
This presentation will explore emerging opportunities to invest across the coffee value chain—from farm-level innovation to processing, branding, and market access—highlighting how strategic investments can strengthen resilience and create greater value for producers. It will provide an overview of global coffee supply and demand trends across regions, the evolving characteristics of coffee value chains, and the key challenges faced by growers, processors, and industry actors, including climate-related risks and market volatility. The presentation will also highlight how sustainability practices, regenerative agriculture, digital traceability and certification can unlock new business opportunities and drive a more inclusive and future-ready coffee sector.
Country perspectives:
- Philippines
Jose Uy III, Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Affairs, Nestle, Philippines
Perspectives of a global manufacturer to evolving environment of coffee sector and investment decisions - Timor-Leste
Martinho Soares, Director General, Ministry of Agriculture of Timor-Leste
National policies and strategies to rehabilitate aging coffee farms and build a national ecosystem for resilience smallholder coffee sector
Ameta, youth coffee entrepreneur, Timor-Leste
Enabling young entrepreneurs to thrive in the coffee sector and support systems - India
Searon Yanthan, Coffee entrepreneur, Nagaland, India
Creating values and market opportunities as local entrepreneurs - Viet Nam
Thiet Nguyen, Viet Nam Country Director for Rainforest Alliance
How certification systems and a recent partnership with Acorn are transforming sustainability from a compliance requirement into an income opportunity
Discussion with presenters
Moderator: Sunae Kim, Senior Natural Resources and Agriculture Specialist, ADB
