Sustainability at Sucafina in Vietnam: Meet Hung & Nhu

When did you join Sucafina? What is your background?

Hung Ngo: I’ve been with Sucafina for about 6 months now. Previously, I worked as the Sustainability Manager and Coffee Trader with ECOM for 12 years. There, I led a wide variety of sustainability projects with major clients.

Nhu Le: I joined Sucafina Vietnam in 2016 as trading assistant.  I graduated from an agricultural school in Ho Chi Minh city and before Sucafina, I worked for several years  for SGS Vietnam Company Ltd. d

What do you think are Sucafina in Vietnam’s sustainability strengths?

HN: First of all, we have the full support of the Sucafina Group as well as from the management team in Vietnam. Our team consists of experienced coffee people and our work is fully supported by the local government and by the farmers we work with. Our work brings both tangible and intangible benefits to the participating farmers and suppliers. What we’re really focusing on is how we can differentiate Sucafina in Vietnam from all the other trade houses in country. We’re doing that by building strong, long-lasting programs that focus on improving conditions for farmers and increasing coffee quality.

NL: I agree with everything Hung has said. I’ll also add that we have a very good Robusta coffee production area. Our partner farmers have so many good farming skills and a tendency to diversify with many kinds of trees in their coffee plots. This means that we’re ahead of the curve sustainability-wise. Ww have good chance that many of our partner farms will be able to reach net zero farms in the near future. Additionally, the Sucafina in Vietnam team has very clear goals of the sustainability activities we plan to achieve based on great support from our Sucafina in Vietnam leadership and from the wider Sucafina group.

What are your goals for the next 1 to 5 years at Sucafina in Vietnam for sustainability?

HN: We are rolling out our IMPACT verification and collecting progress data to be able to design IMPACT Beyond, our tailor-made supply chain investment opportunities for partners. We are focusing on training our employees and partners on IMPACT verification and data collection. We’re also investing in training our supplying partners about IMPACT guidelines and helping them get verified.

On top of that, we’re targeting our work to create benefits for the whole community of farmers and suppliers. In line with our 5 key IMPACT areas, we offer trainings on how to reduce carbon emissions. We promote regenerative agriculture by providing farmers tree seedlings to establish agroforestry, offer soil analysis for customized fertilizer application and help farmers install fertigation to optimize fertilizer and water use together. Trainings also include good input practices and income diversification training to help farmers work towards living incomes. By working with farmers to GPS/ Polygon map their farms, we can help farmers ensure that there is no deforestation occurring in their supply chains. Finally, strong communication with farmers helps us confirm that their labor practices are in line with human rights standards.

The goal is to help farmers become entrepreneurs on their farms so that they can continue producing coffee in the current generations and that their children and grandchildren will also want to produce coffee.

For suppliers, we onboard them and support them so they can source sustainable coffee. A part of the premiums we pay for certified coffee goes to supporting suppliers and strengthening their relationships with farmers.

For roasters and clients, we have built a reliable, trustworthy source of sustainable coffee that they can buy year after year.

Hung, Nhu and the Sucafina in Vietnam team are dedicated to building a sustainable supply chain supports farmer livelihoods and reduces the environmental impact of coffee production. IMPACT verification is a cornerstone to this strategy and IMPACT verified coffee is already available from Vietnam. Get in touch with your trader to learn more about Sucafina in Vietnam’s sustainability efforts and to book IMPACT coffee from Vietnam.