The global coffee industry and agriculture in general are constantly faced with such negative phenomena as temperature instability, rainfall variability, soil degradation and the increasing spread of plant diseases. They seriously affect yields, which in certain years are reduced even to the point of scarcity of a particular crop. And in order to level out and mitigate the negative impact, various organizations at the global level are implementing projects to support farmers. Examples of projects are the introduction of dynamic agroforestry, organic farming, planting coffee bushes in the shade, as well as the use of more modern organic substances to protect plants from pests and diseases.
Dynamic agroforestry means combining a variety of crops to create a natural ecosystem that supports the growth of the desired crop, in our case coffee. For example, in Ghana, one such project impacted over 1,200 smallholder farms by introducing intercropping methods of yams, cassava, cocoa and coffee, increasing farmers’ annual profits by 25% to 125%, demonstrating that diversified cropping systems can stabilize income while promoting biodiversity. Even during dry seasons, the project demonstrated an impressive survival rate of coffee seedlings—90% higher than in monoculture farms. Mixed vegetation provides more shade, which Arabica needs, conserves soil moisture and maintains soil fertility in the long term, reducing reliance on chemical fertilizers and plant diseases.
Organic farming, which is now being actively implemented in some countries, including Ethiopia and Bolivia, has a positive impact on protecting crops from pests, diseases and extreme weather conditions. For example, in Ethiopia, one of the recent projects covered more than 100,000 coffee seedlings and trained local farmers in organic technologies, which improves the quality of coffee and allows farmers to increase their sales.
Meanwhile, in Bolivia, 56 hectares of coffee plantations were upgraded with coffee rust-resistant varieties. More than 330 farmers were trained in this agricultural practice, and 80% of them subsequently reported increased coffee yields. Organic methods also help reduce deforestation, which is consistent with European legislation to prevent global deforestation.
In Kenya, the Climate Academy has trained more than 8,000 coffee farmers in sustainable land management practices, including planting shade trees. The project has planted more than 3,000 trees with an 80% survival rate. This not only protects coffee plants from the heat, but also prevents soil erosion and absorbs carbon from the air.
In Uganda, 17,000 farmers adopted agroforestry practices and 410 hectares of land were improved. Participants’ coffee income increased by 98% and the size of coffee beans became larger, which provided a higher market price.
These and other efforts in growing coffee and other agricultural crops clearly demonstrate that climate change problems can indeed be solved if we take on this and finance various projects. Finances are now provided by many foundations and organizations. So, in addition to national governments, funds are also allocated by Fairtrade International, Rainforest Alliance, World Coffee Research, The Coffee Trust, Olam Coffee, Global Coffee Platform, USAID, The Sustainable Trade Initiative, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Norad, the Big Lottery Fund, the International Coffee Organization and other organizations and companies. Today, the total funding of various projects in the world that directly affect coffee is from 0.5 to 1 billion US dollars per year. Therefore, we can assume that coffee will be with us for quite some time, because many people love its aroma and taste, and therefore take care to finance its further cultivation.
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