Due to a chronic lack of working capital, small coffee farms often experience a cash shortage before the next harvest. As a result, these farmers often sell out their crops at low prices.

To help break this cycle, Starbucks has instituted several initiatives to provide farmers access to affordable credit. By guaranty for loans, Starbucks helped to exist disposable in total:

• $3,25 million at Calvert Foundation which supports 10,000 small-scale Fair Trade farmers from Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Peru.
• $2,12 million at Verde Ventures Fund managed by Conservation International which assists 7.000 small-scale farmers participating in CI’s Conservation™ program sites and applicants to C.A.F.E Practices in Latin America and Asia.
• $19,85 million at Root Capital, former Ecologic Finance, which are participated in approximately 15,000 small-scale Fair Trade farmers in Latin America and Africa.