Green growth smells like Latin American coffee

This article was also published in Uruguay’s El País

Coffee’s journey to become a global commodity dates back to ancient Ethiopia, one of the cradles of civilization, where for centuries the first varieties of a still unknown fruit were zealously cultivated. From there, it spread slowly across the African continent and reached Asia through the port of Mocha, in the fifteenth century, and less than two centuries later, the merchants of Venice distributed it rapidly throughout Europe.

It was not until 1720, however, when coffee landed in Martinique and found in Latin America and the Caribbean a home, which eventually became its new place in the world. Since then, coffee has shaped our history and our culture, and has united us across borders and languages. At present, the region accounts for nearly 60% of global production, with leading countries such as Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala, and coffee creates more than 14 million direct jobs.

Few sectors are concentrated in so many locations around the world and combine so many key drivers of development. Coffee brings together the agricultural sector, the national productive apparatus and the social structures of the producing regions. As the African experience illustrates, especially in Rwanda—which recently hosted the World Coffee Producers Forum—, coffee is also a valuable element of international projection of country brands, an driver of public-private partnerships and a space of growing interest for science and academia.

Coffee's historic journey is living its honeymoon in Latin America and the Caribbean, where it has become one of the most vibrant, competitive and promising sectors. In the coming years we will need to showcase a Latin American coffee leadership that fosters innovative and sustainable practices that can be replicated in other sectors of the region and also globally, and become an icon of green growth.

To this end, we must find effective responses to the main threats to the industry: climate change and the sustainability of coffee farmers. Coffee growers are experiencing the impacts of climate change with increasing force, which is reflected in lower bean quality and an increased risk of diseases such as the coffee berry borer. Some studies show that by 2050, climate change could affect 75% of the land suitable for Arabica coffee production, and 63% of the land for Robusta.

In addition to climate threats, many consumers are willing to pay high prices for coffee, but coffee growers receive only a small fraction of that price. With low prices early in the chain, coffee production is not deemed as economically viable for many coffee farmers.

Against this backdrop, countries such as Colombia, one of the most prominent coffee producers and exporters, is promoting sustainable, low-carbon, resilient and prosperous coffee growing. In this connection, the National Federation of Coffee Growers and CAF are working to build a global vision and a local perspective to help us understand the needs of the communities, and to apply sustainability criteria throughout the production chain.

Coffee production has a very particular feature: it is rooted in tradition, but its versatility makes it an ideal space for innovation. And that is what we want to emphasize: training, and the generation and transfer of knowledge. The initiative, also supported by Columbia University, the UN, the University of Oxford and the World Coffee Producers Forum, will develop a guide to promote government plans on sustainability, and will also conduct three simulations—in Brazil, Colombia and Costa Rica—that will determine the diverse conditions of the coffee producing countries in the region.  

The coffee sector is best positioned to showcase the progress we make every day in small rural communities. Through its global trade routes, we can set trends and become a benchmark for global challenges such as sustainability, climate change adaptation and the empowerment of farming communities.

Latin America and the Caribbean is ready to write a new page in coffee’s historic journey around the world. This will be a green and innovative page that translates into sustainable and inclusive growth and more opportunities for the real protagonists of the coffee production chain.