The ICA serves as the operating charter of the ICO, the only forum that brings the majority of coffee producing and consuming countries together to address critical issues facing the coffee sector. When Oxfam launched its coffee campaign in 2002 with the Mugged: Poverty in Your Coffee Cup report, the ICO was identified as an important venue for Oxfam's message to Make Trade Fair.

The new ICA reflects Oxfam's advocacy work and puts many important issues on the ICO's agenda for the coming years. Most importantly, Oxfam's advocacy agenda came directly from a collaborative process with 12 other organizations - mostly small-scale farmer organizations - and was reflected in the paper Grounds for Change which launched Oxfam's efforts at the ICO in May, 2006.

The following points, included in the new version of the ICA, are victories for small-scale farmers and work across the world:

• Recognition of the relationship between a sustainable coffee market and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals;
• Objectives to develop a sustainable coffee sector in economic, social and environmental terms and enhance the capacity of local communities and small-scale farmers to benefit from coffee production;
• Acknowledgement of the importance of establishing and strengthening cooperation with NGOs;
• A new article on the ICA's project work, which has included efforts to improve farmers' productivity and sustainability;
• Creation of a new ‘Consultative Forum on Coffee Sector Finance' which will bring together experts to discuss finance and risk management with a emphasis on the needs of small and medium scale producers and local communities; and
• Expansion of the ICO's role in disseminating information about the coffee supply chain with emphasis on facilitating access to information by small coffee producers to assist them in improving their financial performance.

While the new ICA adds important elements to the ICO's mandate, the Agreement itself expresses intention. The true value of the new Agreement will be as good as the implementation, which means that while Oxfam welcomes this development it will continue to push ICO member countries to follow through on the promises made to small farmers and farmworkers.