Agroforestry – ensuring sustainability for the future of the coffee industry?
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In the latest USDA World Coffee Supply and Demand Outlook report, global coffee consumption is expected to increase by 1.8 million bags to 167 million bags. However, coffee is entering a cycle of poor productivity due to the impact of extreme weather. In addition, the state of the greenhouse effect and prolonged drought caused a sharp decrease in global coffee production in the 2021-2022 crop year. Experts say the main cause of this decline is climate change. If the situation is not improved, climate change will become more and more severe, which will cause the area of land suitable to grow coffee to shrink rapidly. This will have negative consequences for the future of the coffee industry. One of the many solutions that has been proposed in recent years is agroforestry – a way to help coffee producers mitigate the effects of climate change. Is this solution really effective in protecting the future of the coffee industry? Let’s find out with 43 Factory Coffee now.
What is agroforestry coffee?
Agroforestry is a method of growing crops (which includes growing coffee) that intertwine or between other trees and forests. The method is developed and implemented based on the standards of sustainable land use, forest protection, environmental friendliness, and biodiversity maintenance and development. Coffee grown under agroforestry is planted together with shrubs, perennial woody plants, short-term agricultural plants and combined with livestock.
However, not all types of coffee grow well in environments with dense cover. To grow agroforestry coffee, it is necessary to use coffee varieties with shade-loving properties. Therefore, the Agricultural Research Service for Sustainable Development in the Tropical and Mediterranean Region (CIRAD) has focused on researching more diverse coffee varieties, improving farming techniques, as well as evaluating performance evaluation to find suitable new varieties. In particular, over the past 20 years, CIRAD and the world’s leading Soft Commodity Services Group specializing in coffee, cocoa and cotton (ECOM) have developed climate-tolerant hybrid arabica varieties that are suitable More suitable for growing in the shade. These varieties are ideal for smallholders using agroforestry techniques. In addition, to determine the yield and quality of these hybrids, the BREEDING Coffee for AgroForestry Systems (BREEDing Coffee for AgroForestry Systems) project was established to evaluate how these hybrids perform on a long-term basis in different regions. small production farm.
Agroforestry coffee ensures a sustainable future for the coffee industry
The coffee industry is facing many challenges such as climate change, decline in yield and quality, and undervalued coffee values that make farmers unable to afford the costs to continue to stick around. Agroforestry coffee combines efforts to increase the quality and value of coffee based on measures to improve land use efficiency and protect the environment. This balances commercial and environmental values ensuring a sustainable future for the global coffee industry.
Reduce risk and increase income for farmers
Agroforestry allows coffee growers to have different sources of income from intensive agricultural products with the same coffee tree. This helps reduce the risk of coffee price and market fluctuations, while increasing resilience to climate change. In addition, in agroforestry, plants are grown naturally, minimizing the use of chemicals to save input costs such as chemical fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation water, etc. …
This growing pattern also provides the coffee plants with shade from the harsh sun, which lowers the temperature. It helps to slow down the ripening stage of the fruit as the coffee develops, allowing it to accumulate more sugar, fat, and flavor compounds. Agroforestry also provides favorable conditions for the development of coffee to help the tree grow well, increase yield and quality. After being processed, dried and roasted, it will have a variety of sweet, complex flavors that are favored in the international market.
Furthermore, the techniques used in agroforestry can also help promote and improve traceability and transparency. If they are harvested and processed separately, the coffee can easily be traced back to a producer, farm or cooperative. This means that the economic value of coffee will be enhanced, leading to the possibility that farmers, producers, and roasters will be able to receive higher prices for these coffees.
However, the market for this coffee segment is not yet widespread. Especially if small-scale individual planting, harvesting and processing will be difficult due to poor access to resources and high costs. Small farmers are also difficult to sustain without a long-term source of income. Therefore, to apply this model well, farmers must ensure that there is a market for the type of coffee they are growing.
Protecting natural resources and the environment
Coffee agroforestry will create a rich habitat for many species of flora and fauna. This helps to maintain ecological balance, reduce the introduction of pests and diseases, and protect the genetic diversity of plant species. The plants in the agroforestry system help prevent rainwater, limit soil erosion, maintain the level of humus and nutrients in the soil, promote the cycle of trace elements. The dense density of trees also helps regulate temperature, humidity and light for coffee, reducing evaporation of water and greenhouse gases. They also absorb more carbon dioxide (CO2) than coffee grown in traditional intensive farming. This is because both coffee trees and shade trees absorb CO2 from the atmosphere helping to reduce the effects of global warming. In addition, in agroforestry, the use of environmentally friendly measures such as the use of organic fertilizers, recycling of waste into biological products, etc., helps maintain and improve quality. land. As a result, agroforestry coffee farming can help farms reduce their broader environmental impact, offsetting to the extent that these coffee farms can become carbon neutral or carbon negative.
It can be seen that agroforestry helps to increase the value of coffee, improve the environment and the lives of stakeholders, especially farmers. Although the need for investment costs makes it difficult for small-scale producers, in general, this model has positive impacts on the future of the coffee industry. The techniques and standards applied are all aimed at mitigating the increase of climate change and maintaining the sustainability of the entire industry. If you want to support coffee grown by agroforestry, you can visit 43 Factory Coffee Roaster to choose quality products.
Source: perfectdaily
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