When Coffee Prices Fall, Farmers Shouldn’t Fall With Them
The Diaspora Coffee Initiative Is Building a Safety Net—and a Future
The Coffee Crisis explained
Right now, global coffee prices—specifically for Arabica—have plummeted by nearly 25% in just a few months. Futures prices that reached over 430¢/lb earlier this year are now trading closer to 280¢/lb. Robusta has seen similar drops.
To the average consumer, that sounds like lower prices for their morning cup.
To global corporations, it means bigger profit margins.
But to African farmers, it spells disaster.
Inputs (fertilizer, labor, land) haven’t gotten cheaper
Local currencies haven’t gained strength
Buyers are offering less, even as consumers keep paying more
The result? The people who grow the coffee earn less—even when you’re still paying $5 at Starbucks.
The global price of coffee is falling fast.
The farmers who grow it—especially in Uganda and East Africa—are falling even faster.
That’s not just an economic crisis.
It’s a dignity crisis.
Diaspora Coffee Initiative (DCI) exists to work on such issues.
DCI: A Diaspora-Driven Solution
The Diaspora Coffee Initiative is a bold new model by the TUKOLE Foundation.
It brings together African diaspora communities to:
Invest directly in farmland
Finance the buying, processing, and roasting of African coffee
Sell directly to global markets without exploitative middlemen
Return the majority of profits to farmers and their communities
It’s more than fair trade.
It’s direct trade with ownership, dignity, and legacy built in.
Turning Price Collapse into a Power Play
What do falling global prices mean for DCI?
It means opportunity. Not to exploit farmers, but to protect them.
DCI is now mobilizing its network to:
Buy green coffee in bulk at current low prices
Roast and package it in diaspora-led facilities
Sell it directly to consumers at fair, sustainable retail prices ($16–$22/bag)
Use the margins to repay loans, reinvest in farms, and reward farmers directly
In other words, the DCI is capturing the value chain, not just reacting to it.
What Happens When the Farmer Owns the Supply Chain?
When farmers are just growers, falling prices destroy their income.
When farmers are owners, falling prices create room to buy more, add value, and sell smarter.
DCI puts farmers in the driver’s seat:
They sell to a diaspora-funded Coffee Trading Cycle Fund
They co-own processing and export infrastructure
They earn dividends from DCI retail sales abroad
They aren’t price takers anymore—they’re price makers
Your Cup Can Fund a Movement
Every 12oz bag of DCI coffee funds:
Living wages for East African farmers
Processing equipment for cooperatives
Diaspora trade education programs
Youth employment in Uganda and the U.S.
This isn’t just about saving farmers.
It’s about rebuilding African agriculture from the ground up, one yield at a time.
How You Can Get Involved
Whether you're a coffee lover, a community leader, or a diaspora investor—there’s a role for you.
Join the DCI Coffee Club
Get monthly deliveries of roasted, traceable coffee. Know the name of the farmer behind your cup.
🔹 Invest in the DCI Coffee Fund
Put in $1,000+ to help us buy and move coffee every 90 days. Get returns and impact.
🔹 Sponsor an Acre
Your contribution funds an acre of yield-based, sustainable coffee—complete with drone updates, name plaques, and farmer partnerships.
The Last Word: When Markets Fail, Communities Step Up
The markets have failed our farmers.
But the diaspora is rising.
We don’t need permission to fix this.
We need vision, unity, and bold action.
And we already have that—at TUKOLE, through the Diaspora Coffee Initiative.
Let’s make sure falling prices don’t mean falling people.
Let’s build a supply chain that doesn’t just pay for coffee—but pays for legacy.
