CLIMATE CHANGE 

This research article analyses the relationship between shaded coffee and cocoa production with its financial performance for smallholder farmers. The research has been conducted through a meta-analysis approach comparing results from 23 different research articles publisher between 1988 and 2014. Results showed that profitability and cost-efficiency is higher for small-scale shaded systems. According to the analysis, even though shaded system produces lower yields, the lower costs per area of production and the higher price per kilogram of coffee or cocoa produced makes small-scale shaded system more financially valuable for producers. According to the analysis, studies demonstrate that shaded systems preserve higher biodiversity and contribute to the environmental conservation better that convention production system. Therefore, according to the authors, shaded system not only support higher biodiversity but also perform better financially. It is interesting to know that the authors state a considerable lack of evidence that better quantify the financial and biodiversity performance simultaneously. This article can be particularly interesting for researchers looking at the economics of more biodiverse coffee producing environments.

This research article investigates the coffee tasting rituals of coffee connoisseurs and how they differentiate themselves when drinking coffee from general consumers. The authors travelled to Toronto, Montreal, Seattle and New York between 2013 and 2014 to interview different coffee amateurs and ask specific questions about the coffee taste ritual. The topics of investigations were connected with the variation of choice of high-quality consumption, the place chosen to taste the coffee, the time and specific moment when they prefer to taste the coffee, the act of tasting, the time and money invested, the act to increase their knowledge and the perseverance of the tasting ritual. The general goal of the authors has been identifying what differentiates general consumers from coffee connoisseurs and which are the most interesting characteristics when approaching the tasting ritual. This article can be particularly interesting for baristas, cafes owners and roasters.

As one of the world's most traded agricultural commodities, coffee constitutes a significant part of the overall economy and a major source of foreign revenue for many developing countries. Coffee also touches a large portion of the world's population in the South, where it is mainly produced, and in the North, where it is primarily consumed. As a product frequently purchased by a significant share of worldwide consumers on a daily basis in social occasions, the coffee industry has earned a high profile that also attracts the interest of non-governmental organizations, governments, multilateral organizations and development specialists and has been an early adopter of Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS). Responding to the trend of increased interest on sustainability, it is therefore not surprising that coffee continues to be at the forefront of sustainability initiatives that transcend into other agricultural industries. Based on literature and authors' experiences, this article reflects on the VSS evolution and considers a sustainability model that specifically incorporates producers' local realities and deals with the complex scenario of sustainability challenges in producing regions. Agreeing on a joint sustainability approach with farmers' effective involvement is necessary so that the industry as a whole (up and downstream value chain actors) can legitimately communicate its own sustainability priorities. This top-down/bottom-up approach could also lead to origin-based, actionable and focused sustainability key performance indicators, relevant for producers and consistent with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. The initiative also aims to provide a sustainability platform for single origin coffees and Geographical Indications (GIs) in accordance with growers' own realities and regions, providing the credibility that consumers now expect from sustainability initiatives, additional differentiation options for origin coffees and economic upgrade opportunities for farmers.

The aim of this project was to provide a climate-resilient coffee economy strategy for Ethiopia, based on a rigorous assessment of the influence of climate change on cofee-producing areas and wild coffee forests. The climate resilient strategy was developed in close partnership with stakeholders, including government and non-government bodies, coffee producers and industry.

Preserving the genetic diversity of coffee is essential to securing the future of a globally important crop. Yet the current system for preserving coffee's genetic resources in ex situ collections is not sustainable, secure or rational. Based on a series of surveys and site visits, World Coffee Research together with The Global Crop Diversity Trust, have created an exhaustive report about the state of coffee genetic resource preservation, and a strategy for how to transform the current system into one that can viable safeguard the future of coffee.

This paper frames the global water crisis, defines key terms related to water resources at origin, explores the connections between coffee production, processing and water stewardship, highlights ongoing efforts by industry leaders for responsible water stewardship, and provides recommendations for action and further research.

Millard explains the modern sustainability movement in coffee with great detail from its history to some of the larger trends today. The problems with certifications are examined as well, such as inaccessibility to certain farmer populations and lack of sufficient demand to sell all certified coffee at a premium. This article provides a careful examination of the different developments in sustainable coffee certifications, ultimately encouraging actors to remember to bring civil society into the discussion. Readers interested in fair trade, organic, and other certifications will find this article particularly useful.

Java Plus is a non-profit case study focusing on the coffee industry. The case deals with business strategy, multiple distribution channels, financial analysis, break-even analysis, operational, sourcing challenges and inventory rationalization. The profits of the company are used to help inner city youth gain experience in business and find a vocation that would support their dreams and aspirations.

Conservation initiatives are designed to address threats to forests and biodiversity, often through partnerships with natural-resource users who are incentivized to change their land-use and livelihood practices to avoid further biodiversity loss. In particular, direct incentives programmes that provide monetary benefits are commended for being effective in achieving conservation across short timescales. In biodiversity-rich areas, outside protected areas, such as coffee agroforestry systems, direct incentives, such as certification schemes, are used to motivate coffee producers to maintain native tree species, natural vegetation, restrict wildlife hunting, and conserve soil and water, in addition to encouraging welfare of workers. However, despite these claims, there is a lack of strong evidence of the on-ground impact of such schemes. To assess the conservation importance of certification, we describe a case study in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot of India, in which coffee growers are provided price incentives to adopt Rainforest Alliance certification standards. We analyze the conservation and social outcomes of this programme by studying peoples’ experiences of participating in certification. Despite high compliance and effective implementation, we find a strong case for the endorsement of ‘business as usual’ with no changes in farm management as a result of certification. We find that such ‘business as usual’ participation in certification creates grounds for diminishing credibility and local support for conservation efforts. Working towards locally relevant conservation interventions, rather than implementing global blueprints, may lead to more meaningful biodiversity conservation and increased community support for conservation initiatives in coffee landscapes.

Biodiversity-friendly coffee certifications offer a viable way to protect wildlife habitat while providing a financial incentive to farmers. Most studies related to these certifications focus on avian habitat requirements and it is not known whether these standards also apply to other wildlife, such as mammals, that inhabit the coffee landscapes. We assessed the non-volant mammalian fauna and their associated habitat requirements in 23 sites representing forest, Bird Friendly shade, conventional shade, and sun coffee habitats. We used Sherman trap-grids to measure small mammal abundance and richness, while camera traps were set for medium-sized and large mammals. We detected 17 species of mammals, representing 11 families. This preliminary study indicates that coffee farms in this region provide an important refuge for mammalian wildlife. Mammal species density ranked significantly higher in Bird Friendly coffee sites than other coffee habitats, although there was no significant difference for species richness (using Chao2 estimator) among the habitat types. No significant difference was found in small mammal abundance among the habitat types. We found a higher species density of medium and large mammals in sites with larger, more mature shade trees associated with, but not required by Bird Friendly certification standards. However, lower strata vegetation (5 cm to 1 m tall), the only vegetation parameter found to increase abundance and density for small mammals, is not specified in the Bird Friendly standards. Our findings suggest that although the standards devised for avian habitat do benefit mammals, further study is needed on the requirements specific for mammals that could be included to enhance the coffee habitat for mammals that inhabit these coffee landscapes.

Many sustainability assessment frameworks have been developed in recent years, but translating them into practical tools to guide decision making remains challenging. By engaging coffee stakeholders in Uganda, we demonstrate a process of translating the widely-accepted framework for Sustainability Assessments of Food and Agriculture Systems (SAFA), developed by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), to smallholder production systems. Stakeholders prioritized the sustainability themes in terms of relevance and feasibility, and subsequently identified relevant sub-themes. We find that the structure and scope of some generally accepted themes need appropriate modifications in order to address the social and structural heterogeneity of smallholder production systems. Although importance and feasibility rankings significantly vary within and between stakeholder groups, governance and economic themes are commonly perceived as very important though equally the least feasible for smallholders. Thus, the inclusion of the ‘farmer-group’ structure as part of the sustainability assessment criteria is perceived as necessary especially toward achieving governance-related goals. These findings emphasize the need of engaging stakeholders in defining locally adapted sustainability assessment criteria.

Coffee is one of the most valuable commodities exported worldwide. Greater understanding of the molecular basis of coffee quality is required to meet the increasing demands of consumers. Genotype and environment (G and E) have been shown to influence coffee quality. Analysis of coffee metabolism, the genes governing the accumulation of key components and the influence of environment on their expression during seed development supports the identification of the molecular determinants of coffee quality. An overview of metabolism of the key components of coffee identified critical metabolic steps regulating the final concentration of metabolites that determine coffee quality. Coffee metabolism is influenced by both G and E and explains the higher quality of Arabica when compared to Robusta as well as the improvement of coffee quality by shade. Interaction of G and E (G × E) also contributes to quality. However, coffee metabolism is still not fully understood and there is scope for further studies to explain the contributions of G, E and G X E.

A perceptible change in the quantity consumption and expenditure pattern on tea and coffee was evident across income groups and location of households in India. Low-income households consumed less quantity of these beverages as compared to middle and high-income households. Relatively, the proportion of expenditure on tea and coffee of low-income households was lower than the middle and high-income households in 2004-05, which decreased in all income groups in 2011-12. Similarly, rural households consumed lower levels of coffee and tea than the urban households, which decreased considerably over a period of time. Whereas, compared to tea, per capita consumption expenditure on coffee is very low and has shown a sharp decline across income groups over a period of time. The Heckman Sample Selection Model indicated house hold characters such as per capita income, education and urbanization as the major factors affecting both the preference for and expenditure on tea and coffee in India. These results are useful for developing the policy design and marketing strategies for the promotion of these two beverages in India.

Coffee is grown in more than 60 tropical countries on over 11 million ha by an estimated 25 million farmers, most of whom are smallholders. Several regional studies demonstrate the climate sensitivity of coffee (Coffea arabica) and the likely impact of climate change on coffee suitability, yield, increased pest and disease pressure and farmers' livelihoods. The objectives of this paper are (i) to quantify the impact of progressive climate change to grow coffee and to produce high quality coffee in Nicaragua and (ii) to develop an adaptation framework across time and space to guide adaptation planning. We used coffee location and cup quality data from Nicaragua in combination with the Maxent and CaNaSTA crop suitability models, the WorldClim historical data and the CMIP3 global circulation models to predict the likely impact of climate change on coffee suitability and quality. We distinguished four different impact scenarios: Very high (coffee disappears), high (large negative changes), medium (little negative changes) and increase (positive changes) in climate suitability. During the Nicaraguan coffee roundtable, most promising adaptation strategies were identified, which we then used to develop a two-dimensional adaptation framework for coffee in time and space. Our analysis indicates that incremental adaptation may occur over short-term horizons at lower altitudes, whereas the same areas may undergo transformative adaptation in the longer term. At higher elevations incremental adaptation may be needed in the long term. The same principle and framework is applicable across coffee growing regions around the world.

India, the sixth largest producer of coffee in the world has reached stagnation in productivity resulting in area led growth of production. A structural shift in Indian coffee production from high quality and premium priced Arabica coffee to lower quality Robusta coffee is evident and a ttributed to the prevalence of high incidence of pest particularly white stem borer in Arabica. Growers of Arabica are at disadvantage; incurring higher expenditure in cultivation to control the borer infestation and heavy economic loss in production. This shift is happening despite higher net returns realized by Arabica growers as compared to Robusta growers. It is imperative for India to increase the yield; particularly of Arabica coffee to remain in the quality segment of world coffee market as our analy sis indicates that India’s share has stagnated at around 4 percent. The paper also postulates that it is imperative to penetrate the niche market and in the process move from the conventional coffee production to a sustainable certification production systems in tune with the growing consumer recognition and demand for certified, organic and specialty coffee. The Coffee Board, the nodal agency for coffee research and development in India has to make concerted efforts in two direction;- (a) to break stagnation in productivity through technology and adopt strategies for arresting the decline in cultivation of Arabica coffee and; (b) focus on capturing niche markets by reorienting its efforts in the value chain.