"Over 1000 farmers in South Shan Myanmar have made the switch from opium to coffee, and in an important step for sustainable alternative development have today announced a contract with a major buyer from Europe. Research by UNODC has found a strong correlation between insecurity and opium cultivation; but it also shows that given a choice, communities currently producing opium would want a different source of income and a future away from the cycle of instability that it brings. In 2014, UNODC began working with farmers in Taunggyi, South Shan to make the transition from opium to sustainable, high value coffee, and three years later the project has seen their communities transformed in remarkable fashion. Today is a milestone as the local farming collective signed a distribution agreement with French coffee company MALONGO for the entire crop. It has been a challenge to change to coffee farming, to learn fairtrade practices with other farmers in the region through knowledge exchanges facilitated by UNODC and MALONGO, and to form a collective to bring their product to market, but the farmers are unanimous that it is the best path to take. UNODC is pleased to recognise the important support and partnership of MALONGO. The Malongo Foundation helps growers across the Southern Hemisphere bring fairtrade coffee to market, and is instrumental in the sustainable development of communities from Haiti to New Caledonia to the Congo, and now Myanmar. UNODC facilitated visits of MALONGO to South Shan throughout the year, and facilitated meetings with Green Gold..."