Rainforest Alliance Vietnam

Why this project matters

In Vietnam’s Central Highlands, coffee is more than a crop, it is the backbone of millions of livelihoods. The country is the world’s second‑largest coffee producer, with most of its beans grown by hardworking smallholder farmers on modest plots who depend on a single, volatile commodity for their income. Yet behind this global success lies growing fragility: farming families face rising costs, unstable prices, and the worsening impacts of climate change. At the same time, ethnic minority communities—who make up a significant share of the region—remain disproportionately affected by poverty, even as national prosperity rises. Decades of agricultural expansion have also come at an environmental cost, with coffee and rubber cultivation contributing to forest loss and land degradation. 

Our partnership with the Rainforest Alliance offers farmers a way forward, shifting from vulnerability to resilience with agroforestry systems. By integrating trees into coffee farms, farmers can restore soil, buffer crops against climate shocks, while creating new income streams beyond coffee. By connecting farmers to emerging carbon markets and sustainable value chains, it turns environmental restoration into economic opportunity. 

Project impact

The project has already undertaken the following activities: 

• Agroforestry workshops with farmers, companies and local communities 

• Agroforestry designs created  

• Farmer Training 

• Seedling distribution