Prosperous Farmers and Forests Partnership

The project entails a community-corporate partnership model, led by WWF and the coffee company Slow that aims to build sustainable, resilient, and inclusive forest economies in Vietnam. The objective of this project is to contribute to climate vulnerability reduction by the protection and restoration of natural forest, thus conserving a biodiversity corridor in the Quang Tri province, and by transforming 2,500 hectares of monoculture coffee plantations into a regenerative agroforestry model. This transformation is designed to not only improve the livelihoods of 2,000 smallholder households through significant income increases, but also to enhance environmental sustainability.

Through these efforts, the partnership creates a sustainable and resilient agricultural economy which is benefiting both the community and the ecosystem. In the long-term, the partnership aims to contribute to community development in Quang Tri and to establish a sustainable agroforestry model that utilizes technological solutions for full traceability and certifiability in the production of high-quality, fair, and forest-friendly coffee.

Project achievements by the end of 2024

Supporting Farmers

• Over 370 smallholder farmers received support including training, seedlings, and fertilizers to transition towards sustainable coffee farming.
• Vietnam’s first official agroforestry guide for Arabica coffee was approved and shared nationwide.

Greener Coffee Farms

• 618 hectares of traditional coffee farms have begun the transformation into more diverse, environmentally friendly agroforestry systems.
• Farmers planted over 48,000 native and fruit trees, which provide shade for the coffee, support biodiversity, and help protect the soil.

Protecting Forests and Improving Incomes

• Nearly 19,000 hectares of natural forest in a key biodiversity area are now being protected with local community support.
• Over 180 ethnic minority households earned additional income by collecting forest products in a sustainable way.
• A new “green belt” of native trees was planted to help prevent forest loss, and was featured on national TV as a model for deforestation-free farming.

Selling Forest-Friendly Coffee

•  Slow developed new tools to track carbon emissions from farm to cup, making it easier for businesses to choose climate and biodiversity friendly coffee.