Does sustainable coffee production help balance the environment and the economy?
– PROTECT THE ORIGIN –
Sustainable coffee production is one of the important directions of the world coffee industry. This is an improved farming model to improve productivity, quality, added value and income for farmers, while protecting the environment and biodiversity. Today, producers attach great importance to coffee production in this direction. However, in order to ensure sustainability in production, they have to spend a lot of money on investing in equipment and materials, etc., affecting profits. So, does sustainable coffee production really help balance the environment and commercial value? Let’s find out together with 43 Factory Coffee Roaster!
Sustainable coffee production
Sustainable coffee production is the cultivation of coffee using methods that minimize negative environmental, social and economic impacts. This model not only benefits farmers, but also contributes to climate change adaptation and mitigation, through saving water, reducing chemical fertilizers and pesticides, increasing strengthen shade trees and intensive crops. According to the International Coffee Community, sustainable coffee production needs to follow criteria and processes that are certified or tested by reputable organizations, ensuring transparency and trustworthiness. Activities of stakeholders from manufacturers, traders to suppliers need to:
– Focus on environmental protection and conservation of natural resources.
– Bring value and profit worthy of the efforts of all supply chains and have a surplus for investment and development.
– Ensure a suitable working environment, stable livelihood for employees and the community and society.
Sustainable coffee production protects the environment
One of the criteria when producing sustainable coffee is to uphold environmental responsibility, reduce negative impacts, and conserve natural resources.
Limit carbon emissions that cause the greenhouse effect
Sustainable coffee production is one of the ways to reduce carbon emissions to the environment. Carbon gas is one of the causes of the greenhouse effect and climate change. According to statistics of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the amount of carbon that the coffee industry emits globally each year accounts for 0.2%. Therefore, to minimize this, producers have applied sustainable coffee production during cultivation, harvesting and processing.
Sustainable coffee production starts with prioritizing the use of coffee varieties that are suitable for the climate and soil conditions of each region, are more resistant to pests and diseases, and are better adapted to the weather. Coffee is also intercropped with other crops such as fruit trees, forest trees or food crops. Coffee intercropping can take advantage of water and nutrients from other plants. This reduces the amount of fertilizers and pesticides that need to be used, increasing the forest cover density, thereby reducing carbon emissions. In addition, traditional coffee harvesting and processing methods often use a lot of energy from non-renewable sources such as coal, oil or gas to dry the beans. This causes a huge amount of carbon emissions. So sustainable coffee producers have turned to renewable energy sources such as sun, wind or biomass to dry coffee beans to reduce emissions and save energy.
Save water and minimize waste water when producing coffee
The process of growing and preliminarily processing coffee requires a large amount of water and creates a lot of waste containing high amounts of potassium (the seed shelling process) which is harmful to the environment if not handled properly. To solve this problem, sustainability-oriented farms have found ways to reduce water consumption in coffee processing, reuse wastewater and treat organic waste. Professor Douglas Guelfi, an agricultural researcher at UFLA, said he has seen many producers use the water after pre-processing coffee as a potassium fertilizer for crops. They also use this wastewater to produce organic fertilizer to return water to the environment, limiting toxic waste. In addition, coffee intercropping also creates shade and reduces the natural temperature of coffee trees, helping to save fresh water every year.
Reducing soil pollution caused by overuse of chemical fertilizers
Sustainable coffee production is one of the effective solutions to reduce soil pollution caused by the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. These farming methods are all environmentally friendly, geared towards the natural growth of coffee. The coffee trees will be planted in the form of agroforestry to easily absorb nutrients and grow in harmony with the surrounding environment. They are also controlled pests and harmful insects by beneficial insects or plants that repel pests. This helps reduce the amount of chemicals used, limiting residues of harmful substances to the soil. Coffee grown by agroforestry also contributes to increasing biodiversity, restoring forests, improving soil erosion, landslides, etc. In addition, in times of need to supplement nutrients, agriculture People also use organic fertilizers and biological products instead of chemical fertilizers to help improve and maintain soil quality in a long-term way.
Sustainable coffee production is more profitable for producers
Besides helping to protect the environment, sustainable coffee production also brings more profits to producers. Because the market share and value of sustainable coffee is getting higher and higher because the trend of consuming environmentally friendly products has increased rapidly in recent years. In 2018 alone, consumers spent more than $128 billion on this category. In 2020, more than 77% of consumers said that they care and prioritize products that are more sustainable and environmentally responsible. Besides, in addition to revenue from coffee, farmers also have another source of income through intercropping with other agricultural crops on the farm. So, although it will cost producers more to produce coffee in a sustainable way, their value is not low. Profits from this industry have helped many producers and farmers have a better life and a brighter future thanks to the acceptance of the market.
It can be seen that sustainable coffee production both helps protect the environment and brings commercial value to producers. This is an encouraging and supportive direction in the global coffee industry. However, its commercial benefits still depend quite a lot on consumer trends. Therefore, to develop this model, businesses need to comply with sustainability standards, improve their ability to find and market consumer markets, encourage consumers to choose to buy and support coffee products. Sustainable branded coffee. If you want to learn more about this topic, please follow 43 Factory Coffee Roaster to update the information
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