Enabling safe and climate smart coffee production in Colombia
The coffee berry borer (CBB) is the most serious coffee pest, worldwide, causing crop damage in excess of $US500 million, annually. In Colombia, 75% of coffee crops are affected by this pest, where it directly damages coffee beans, destroying the taste and making the beans unsaleable. Furthermore, climate change is enabling the wider spread of CBB, especially at higher altitudes. To overcome losses, the trend amongst farmers is to intensify their activities and expand growing areas. CABI and partners are producing an alert system that uses climatic data and remote sensing technology to give farmers advance warnings of CBB surges, allowing them time to access and apply controls. Biopesticides will be profiled by CABI and relayed into the alert system to further advance the farmers’ abilities to select the right product, at the right time. Women farmers are also integral to the project and to on-farm decision-making but a lack of access to information reduces their participation. This project will focus on overcoming gender disparities in coffee farming.
Promoting domestic coffee consumption in Africa
Coffee is a primary source of income for more than 12 million households in Africa, and, in particular for rural-based populations. Over 38% of the total population of Burundi, 23% Tanzania, 22% Uganda, 17% Côte d’Ivoire and 14% Ethiopia, for example, depend on coffee farming. Production of the crop has, for over two decades, been on a downward spiral in the continent, Ethiopia and Uganda excluded, driven by low and volatile international coffee prices. Increasing domestic coffee consumption is, therefore, seen as a viable avenue for cushioning coffee smallholders in Africa against price decline and volatility. CABI is undertaking this study to identify the factors underpinning domestic coffee consumption, the potential market size and possible paths for facilitating its growth. The study will provide statistical evidence on the existing market landscape and the concomitant investment opportunities.
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