Out with shade-grown
Beginning in the 1970s, many Latin American coffee farmers began to convert their farms to what is called “technified” production systems. In response to disease outbreaks in Brazil during the early ‘70s, large growers began to search for new, heartier coffee varietals.
Encouraged by local and national governments – along with development aid agencies like USAID – many of these farmers began to cut down the trees that create the canopy under which coffee has traditionally been grown and plant in their place varietals specially bred to grow in full sun. Those selected were heartier and more resistant to disease and pests – and were also less affected by the application of chemical fungicides.
As demand for coffee has grown, coffee growers have moved to large-scale operations and beans that can grow in full sun, which means less biodiversity and poorer soil.
ken_mayer/flickr, CC BY
By the end of the 1990s, sun or reduced-shade cultivation systems accounted for almost 70% of Colombia’s land area devoted to coffee and 40% of Costa Rica’s.
These technified plots can be up to five times more productive than shade systems, but also come with significant environmental consequences. Shade coffee farms have proven to harbor some of the highest levels of biodiversity, particularly for insects and migratory birds, among all agro-ecosystems (those whose products are used for human consumption).
Furthermore, a recent study found that, from seed to mug, each cup of coffee uses about 140 liters of “virtual water,” which takes into account water used for irrigation, processing and shipping, as well as for consumption. This figure is significantly higher for coffee grown in full-sun versus that grown under shade cover.
Since it’s grown out of the more balanced ecosystem of the shaded grove, technified coffee requires much higher levels of chemical pesticides to combat pests. And since technified plants produce so much more coffee and don’t have the benefit of using recycled plant matter, farmers need to apply more fertilizer to make up for the loss of soil nutrients from year to year. The application of these chemicals can have detrimental long-term effects on a region’s biodiversity and soil health.
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