Climate change adaptation, mitigation and livelihood benefits in coffee production:where are the synergies? (original) (raw)
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roceedings of International Workshop on Modelling Agroforestry Systems, CATIE, Costa Rica, 2008, 2009
"Climate variation and oscillating cycles between El Niño and La Niña have contributed to extreme variations in coffee production in Nicaragua, Central America. This has led to income of small farmers crashing from 2300oneyeartoonly2300 one year to only 2300oneyeartoonly600 the next. Projections of the impact of climate change on coffee in Mexico and Sao Paulo Brazil indicate drastic changes in coffee production with change in climate likely to occur this century. Models to predict changes in coffee distribution, production and quality need to be developed for Central America and other regions. Adaptation strategies include better information management about short-term climate variation, development of varieties to adapted to new climatic conditions, shade management systems with greater resilience to climate variation, greater water efficiency in production and processing, insurance mechanisms to enable producers bridge years affected by climate extremes and last but not least marketing strategies to deal with variability in production. The International Panel on Climate Change´s primary recommendation for adaptation is “Start Adapting Now”."
Cognizance Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies (CJMS), 2023
Coffee contributes significant income to economy of Malawi. Most smallholder farmers produce coffee cherry yield below 500 kg per hectare due to various challenges. Information on coffee farming household demographic characteristics, constraints and opportunities for high productivity, knowledge on climate change and indicators, and practices for adapting to effects of climate change on coffee is scarce. A survey was implemented in five coffee growers’ cooperatives under Mzuzu Coffee Planters Cooperative Union. Respondents (n = 372) were randomly selected and interviewed using a questionnaire. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Mean Derived Scores (MDS) were calculated in Microsoft excel. 74.7% of respondents were male, and belonged to male headed households (87.1%). Respondents (80.4%) were above 40 years old. Only 3.5% were in age category of 18-30. 87.6% of respondents were married. Mean number of individuals in a household was six. Majority of farmers (62.1%) attended primary education. Only 1.65 attended tertiary education. Pests and diseases was the major constraint to high coffee cherry yield productivity (MDS = 4.4). Favourable environmental conditions can contribute towards high coffee productivity (MDS = 4.6). Unpredictable rainfall was the first indicator of climate change (MDS = 5.0). Death of plants (MDS = 5.5) and low cherry yield (MDS = 4.6) are important effects of climate change on coffee. Farmers intercropped coffee with shade trees (MDS = 5.0) to adapt to effects of climate change. Government and development partners should promote minority groups, and agroforestry systems such as intercropping coffee with bananas in order to adapt to effects of climate change and ensure high productivity and sustainable coffee production.
Impact of climate change on coffee production: An overview
Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 2020
The impacts from climate change are already widespread and the consequences have been witnessed all around the world. India is among the countries most affected by climate change according to Global Climate Risk Index (2017) and in particular the southern states where coffee is grown. Coffee is the second largest traded commodity in the world next to petroleum products. The major producing countries are Brazil, Colombia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Mexico, India and Guatemala, whose economies earn considerable foreign exchange from the export of coffee. These countries are facing local and global impacts of climate change over the decades as any fluctuations in temperature, rainfall, humidity, soil nutrients, moisture, sunlight, aeration and soil temperature could impact the growth and productivity of coffee plants. Hence, adaption of mitigation strategies involving actions to reduce global warming is an important option to overcome the impact of climate variations on coffee production.
Exploring adaptation strategies of coffee production to climate change using a process-based model
Ecological Modelling
Exploring adaptation strategies of coffee production to climate change using a process-based model The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) believes that open access contributes to its mission of reducing hunger and poverty, and improving human nutrition in the tropics through research aimed at increasing the eco-efficiency of agriculture. CIAT is committed to creating and sharing knowledge and information openly and globally. We do this through collaborative research as well as through the open sharing of our data, tools, and publications.
The Potential of Latin American Coffee Production Systems to Mitigate Climate Change
Climate Change Management, 2012
A carbon footprint is used to define the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions emitted along supply chains and is the first step towards reducing GHG emissions. Carbon footprint standards have emerged as new market requirements for producers of agri-food products to retailers in developed countries and are likely to become a comparative advantage. In the coffee sector specifically little literature and data on the carbon footprints of different coffee production systems and supply chains exists. Furthermore various actors in the voluntary standard community such as the ISEAL Alliance and the TSPN Network call for a verification of the impact of voluntary standards on climate change mitigation. Therefore GHG data from different coffee production systems and voluntary standards has been compiled and compared regarding on-farm carbon stocks and the carbon footprint. To quantify the on-farm carbon stocks and carbon footprints a GHG quantification model; the Cool Farm Tool (Hillier et al., 2011) has been used. The Cool Farm Tool uses the Tier II methodology of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2006) and is based on empirical GHG quantification models built from hundreds of peer-reviewed studies. Field data has been collected in four countries across Mesoamerica from the coffee production systems that are distinguished by Moguel and Toledo (1999): (1) traditional polycultures, (2) commercial polycultures, (3) shaded monocultures, and (4) unshaded monocultures. The researched production systems also include organic, Rainforest Alliance and UTZ certified farms. The results show low mean carbon footprints of coffee produced in traditional polycultures (5,4 kg CO 2-e/kg-1) and commercial polycultures (4,9 kg CO 2-e/kg-1) versus high mean carbon footprints at shaded monocultures (7,8 kg CO 2-e/kg-1) and unshaded monocultures (8 kg CO 2-e/kg-1). The same trend is observed concerning on-farm carbon stocks; polycultures (81,2 t CO 2-e/ha-1) versus monocultures (27 t CO 2-e/ha-1). The analysis further demonstrates a lower carbon footprint at organic, Rainforest Alliance and UTZ certified farms although this effect is largely counteracted by lower yields. Based on the results a framework for site-specific mitigation has been developed to assist coffee farmers in defining climate friendly farm practices and accelerate climate change mitigation in Mesoamerican coffee production.
An innovation perspective to climate change adaptation in coffee systems
Environmental Science and Policy, 2019
Climate change is expected to have strong implications for smallholder coffee farmers and implementing adaptation measures would lessen their vulnerabilities. Adaptation measures have been identified in literature, but how these can be implemented remains unclear. Current certification programmes have the potential to provide guidance on how sustainability criteria can be addressed and taken up by farmers. We identify climate change adaptation options, their scale of application, and the necessary implementation steps. We show that implementation complexity strongly increases with the degree of climate change. With modest climatic changes, incremental adaptations might suffice, but more substantial climatic change will require radical social-institutional changes for adaptation uptake and interventions. For the majority of smallholders the implementation of any measure is largely constrained by a lack of access to knowledge networks and training material, organisa-tional support, and (mainly financial) resources. A landscape approach that encompasses collective action and coordinated cross-sector planning can overcome some of these barriers. Certification approaches can facilitate a move in this direction. Yet, the implementation of transformative adaptations requires visioning, realignment of policies and incentives, and new market formations. This entails a repositioning and revision of certification schemes to allow for more effective adaptation uptake for the benefit of smallholders and the environment.
2013
ABSTRACT Coffee is a major cash crop in Uganda, but research shows that the smallholder farmers who produce 90 of it could have their already vulnerable livelihoods made more vulnerable by climate change. Oxfam's research project interviewed coffee farmers in the Rwenzori Mountains and found that they are aware that the climate is changing and becoming less predictable, and have used various adaptation strategies. But for Arabica coffee, which can only be grown at high altitudes in Uganda, climate change and rising temperatures are likely to further restrict the areas in which it can be grown. This report makes recommendations for adapting coffee production in Uganda to reduce the impact of climate change on the economy and to reduce the risks that smallholder farmers will fall further into poverty.
Developing Country Studies
This review was focused on agronomic practices influenced negative impacts of climate change. Coffee is the only crop which more than 25 million people in the world depend on, and the second most important commodity next to oil. However, in recent decades, coffee production has been influenced by severity of climatic changes. Agronomic practices have great function in sustain coffee production due to their attribution in buffering climatic change. Thus, this review conducted with the intension of agronomic practices task in buffering of climatic change impacts in coffee production and productivity. Because of climate change, the optimum production zone for coffee is projected to decrease up to 40% and at the end of this century, temperature will rise by 4-6°C. This severity and hazardless will tremendous in developing countries which extremely vulnerable to the risk. Furthermore, deforestation due to over population and absence of awareness in agroforestry are another problem increases the risk of climate change. Familiarity of contributions of agronomic practices in mitigating climate change is less recognizing and practiced informally than improve and scientific way. However, shading has capacity to reduce air temperature by 4°C, banana intercropping with coffee contributed as sources of income in off season for coffee yield. Finally, agronomic practices such as shading, mulching, irrigation, intercropping, pruning and soil conservation practices are the best option for sustaining coffee production and for buffering the direct and indirect impacts of climatic changes.
Pursuing climate resilient coffee in Ethiopia – A critical review
Geoforum
This paper provides a multi-scalar examination of the Ethiopian coffee sector and its pursuit of climate resilience. Concern is growing about the potential impact of climate change on Arabica coffee in Ethiopia and the 25 million livelihoods it supports. Arabica coffee has a relatively narrow envelope of climatic suitability and recent studies suggest that the area of bioclimatically suitable space for the species in its native Ethiopia could decline dramatically in the coming decades. We adopt a critical perspective on resilience that reflects on the situated nature of the ecology/science of coffee and climate change and the operation of social, economic, and discursive power across scales, paying particular attention to the differentiated impacts of climate change and associated resilience strategies. This analysis begins by reviewing Ethiopia's Climate Resilient Green Economy strategy and argues that the current lack of attention to coffee is inappropriate considering the coffee sector's vulnerability to climate change, economic importance and association with forests. The paper then examines the contemporary coffee sector which provides the context for reflecting on three potential responses to the threat climate change poses; a spatial response from farmers, adaptive farm management responses such as changing shade levels and the development of the country's genetic resources to cultivate improved varieties. The analysis explores the disconnect between the interventions emerging from national and international institutions and the local context. The multi-scale approach highlights the presence of complex normative trade-offs associated with pursing climate resilience strategies and reinforces the importance of appreciating the dynamics which influence decision-making in the country.
Climate Change Adaptation: The case of the Coffee Sector in Nicaragua
2015
This article studies Nicaraguan coffee growers' perceptions on long term changes in climate, the adaptation strategies implemented and its determinants. Using a household level sample, this study estimates probabilistic models where climate change adaptation is explained by household and farm characteristics, perceptions about changes in climate, measurement of exposure to climate change and geographical fixed effects. Results suggest that household age and years of education, number of household members, level of wealth, having received technical assistance, participation in farmer groups, off farm work, perceptions about changes in climate and exposure to climate change, affect the coffee growers' decision to adapt to climate change. However, the magnitude and significance of the effect of these explanatory variables varies across adaptation strategies.