Introduction:

Climate change and its consequences are now recognized amongst the major environmental challenges for this century. These issues impact agriculture and forestry in several ways:

1) Productive systems are affected by climate change and need to develop
adaptation strategies.
2) In many parts of the world agriculture heavily relies on chemical inputs, likely to be more and more expensive in the future. On the other hand growing demand for food and bio-energy imply increasing production in the future.
3) Farming, livestock production and deforestation are major GHG producers.
4) Forest and agricultural lands can be major carbon sinks under appropriate management practices.

Considering above mentioned aspects, many tools for agriculture and forestry have been developed for assessing GHG emissions. Denef et al. (2012) classify these tools as : calculators, protocols, guidelines and models. This review focus on calculators, i.e, automated web-, excel-, or other software-based calculation tools, developed for quantifying GHG emissions or emission reductions from agricultural and forest activities. These calculators have a limited complexity and must be considered as decision supporting tools for policy makers and project managers, whereas models are more complex and oriented for research, according to Denef et al. definition. The « Agence de l'Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l'Energie » (ADEME, French Agency for Environment and Energy Management), the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the « Institut de Recherche pour le Développement » (IRD, French Research Institute for Development) have decided to make a review on these calculators. The aim is to provide users with helpful information for choosing the most appropriate calculator in each case, and to highlight major methodological differences between the calculators. At the end, the idea is to promote transparency in carbon analysis, appropriate analysis of results by final users, and provide development ideas for carbon calculator designers.

The NAEB is a Rwandan government organization that exists to increase the exportation of tea, coffee, horticulture, honey, and livestock products. In this particular report, the NAEB reports on the exportation of tea and coffee, including the percentages of different types of coffee, projected revenue from exports, number and location of coffee washing stations, and types of fertilizers applied.

An evaluation was performed of three upflow anaerobic fixed bed reactors for the treatment of wastewater from coffee bean processing (WCP). The supports used were: blast furnace cinders, polyurethane foam and crushed stone with porosities of 53, 95 and 48%, respectively. The testing of these 139.5 L reactors consisted of increasing the COD of the influent (978; 2401 and 4545 mg L-1), while maintaining the retention time of 1.3 days. For the maximum COD applied, the reactor filled with foam presented removals of 80% (non-filtered samples) and 83% (filtered samples). The greater performance of the reactor filled with foam is attributed to its porosity, which promoted greater collection of biomass. From the results, it could be concluded that the reactors presented satisfactory performance, especially when using the foam as a support. Furthermore, the modified Stover-Kincannon and second order for multicomponent substrate degradation models were successfully used to develop a model of the experimental data.

Researchers investigated coffee farmers' working knowledge of coffee agroforestry systems and the role shade trees played in their farms. The intent of the research was to determine if global scientific knowledge had been transferred to farmers and to understand how the farmers' managed their farms using this knowledge.

In recent years, researchers have observed the process of mainstreaming Fair Trade and the emergence of alternative sustainability standards in the coffee industry. The underlying market dynamics that have contributed to these developments are, however, under-researched. Insight into these dynamics is important to understand how markets can develop to favor sustainability. This study examines the major developments in the market for certified coffee in the Netherlands. It finds that, in the creation of a market for sustainable coffee, decisions that significantly influence market creation are made in the lead companies (retailers and coffee roasters). These decisions are made possible by the availability of multiple systems of sustainability standards and by the existence of a small segment of loyal Fair Trade customers that ensured that sustainability remained an issue on the coffee market in the years before the market creation took-off. Fair Trade did not become the new rule in this process, but it became the benchmark against which companies could compare themselves and the basis upon which they built in adopting or developing new standards that would be more feasible in their business models.

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) involves the nonsexual transmission of genetic material across species boundaries. Although often detected in prokaryotes, examples of HGT involving animals are relatively rare, and any evolutionary advantage conferred to the recipient is typically obscure. We identified a gene (HhMAN1) from the coffee berry borer beetle, Hypothenemus hampei, a devastating pest of coffee, which shows clear evidence of HGT from bacteria. HhMAN1 encodes a mannanase, representing a class of glycosyl hydrolases that has not previously been reported in insects. Recombinant HhMAN1 protein hydrolyzes coffee berry galactomannan, the major storage polysaccharide in this species and the presumed food of H. hampei. HhMAN1 was found to be widespread in a broad biogeographic survey of H. hampei accessions, indicating that the HGT event occurred before radiation of the insect from West Africa to Asia and South America. However, the gene was not detected in the closely related species H. obscurus (the tropical nut borer or �false berry borer�), which does not colonize coffee beans. Thus, HGT of HhMAN1 from bacteria represents a likely adaptation to a specific ecological niche and may have been promoted by intensive agricultural practices.

This research article analysis the different levels of antioxidants extractions depending on the brewing time and method. Indeed, coffee is a good source of antioxidants. By drinking it, the body can decrease the level of oxidative stress and counteract chronic diseases. However, the quantity of antioxidants extracted changes considerable depending on the brewing method that has been used. To conduct this assessment, the authors decided to monitor the difference in extractions levels between expresso and filter. The analysis show that with the pressure used by expresso machines, 70% of the antioxidants were extracted after just 8 seconds. In the case of filter extraction, the time needed was longer (around 75 seconds) and the level of antioxidants was lower. Therefore, results show that for the purpose of extracting a considerable level of antioxidative components, espresso is the preferred methods. This article can be particularly interesting for baristas and coffee lovers.

This study has adapted the Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF) to comprehend and compare the sustainability of different green coffee farming systems. The SLF is a people-centred framework designed for a better understanding of the complexities of poverty. The framework presents the main influencing factors for the people's livelihood and it emphasises their multiple interactions. The resulting framework, called Sustainable Coffee Farming Framework (SCFF), has been applied in its completeness to gain knowledge on how the supply chains and the external environment are influencing the coffee farmer and consequently the sustainability of coffee farming. The SCFF is made of the following components: a) the vulnerability context; b) the coffee farmer assets; c) the transforming structures and processes; d) the coffee farming strategies and e) the coffee farming sustainability outcomes.

This review by the World Bank analyses the economic implications for coffee producers in Brazil, India and Guatemala related to the liberalisation of the coffee market. The review is an open response to other economic studies which stated that producers were negatively affected by the liberation of the market after the suspension of the International Coffee Agreement in 1989. To prove them wrong, this study compares the price perceived by farmers through the un-regulated market to the price they would have received if the market was still regulated under the ICO. According to their results, the price paid for Brazil, India and Guatemala coffees has increased thanks to the liberalisation of the market and coffee producers are perceiving higher incomes now. This study argues that not only end-market actors are benefitting from an un-regulated market but also actors at origin. This review is particularly interesting for professional looking at the economics dynamics of coffee trading.

This paper outlines the work done in four countries, where the organization Promundo in alliance with other groups executed different kinds of gender prevention workshops. In India, they utilized local political organizations; in Brazil, a sports-based approach including a soccer tournament; in Chile, a health care-based approach; and in Rwanda, an approach based on local coffee cooperatives. While some evaluations were limited, Promundo found that overall the workshops and campaigns had positive results, and the organization gives recommendations on how to improve and continue future endeavors in how to stop gender-based violence and improve gender equity. Those interested in gender equality, youth issues, the work of NGOs, and the social work of coffee cooperatives might find this report particularly interesting.

Although waste from coffee processing is avaluable resource to make biogas, compost, andnutrient-rich animal food, it is usually dumped intonearby water courses. We carried out water qualityassessment at 44 sampling sites along 18 rivers that receive untreated waste from 23 coffee pulping andprocessing plants in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia. Twentyupstreamsampling sitesfree from coffeewaste impact served as control, and 24 downstream sampling sites affected by coffee waste were selected for comparison.Physicochemical and biological results revealed a significant river water quality deterioration as a result ofdisposing untreated coffee waste into running watercourses. This study highlights the urgency of research exploring on the feasibility ofadopting appropriate pollution abatement technologies to implement ecologically sound coffee-processing systems in coffee-growing regions of Ethiopia.

This paper examines the global coffee crisis that began in the late 1980s and its impact on local livelihoods for smallholding farmers in India. The coffee crisis is characterized by low farm-gate coffee prices caused by oversupply, an unregulated open market, and growing corporate concentration. Smallholding coffee farmers in India suffered severely during the recent crisis as they experienced lower yields, lower coffee prices, and weak market institutions. The impact of the coffee crisis is considered in terms of structural changes in the coffee market and rural institutions and the measures farmers have used to cope with market volatility.

This overview article examines the various dimensions of sustainable coffee as well as the actors involved and their perceptions of how to advance the market from niche to mainstream. The issues at hand are very complex, with different types of coffee producers, manufacturing/roasting companies and consumers, and a variety of standards, all with their own peculiarities and views on what is the best approach, and characterized by a divergent potential for 'scaling up'. Policymakers, managers and NGOs thus face difficult choices as to which path to pursue as there is no clear consensus on a concrete 'solution' to this 'wicked problem'. The article analyses the market for sustainable coffee, the different types of certified coffee available and their peculiarities considering production and supply perspectives, in relation to consumers who buy the final product. Implications are discussed as well, in the context of complexity and confusion, and the need for more complementarity.

This study looks at the profitability of intercropping coffee and banana trees for smallholder farmers in Uganda. Both coffee and banana are crash crops for Uganda. The difference being that coffee (both Arabica and Robusta) is primarily exported and bananas are both a primary food source as well as a cash crop. Uganda is the largest banana producer and 2nd largest coffee producer in Africa. Both of the crops are predominantly grown as monocultures, however in more densely populated areas, intercropping is found to be more common. This study compared the profitability of intercropped coffee-banana systems versus mono-cropped systems in both Arabica and Robusta growing regions of Uganda. The study used structured farmer interviews, field measurements and observations for the data collection. There were two objectives for the study. The first was to quantify the agronomic productivity of banana and coffee mono-cropping and intercropping systems. The second was to use the results of that to assess the profitability of the inter- cropping systems for smallholder farmers. It was found that coffee yields did not show a significance difference, but it was found that banana yields were significantly higher in intercrops than in monocrops in Arabica growing regions. For Robusta, banana yields were significantly lower in intercropped systems. The conclusion of the study showed that coffee-banana intercropping has more benefits and that smallholder coffee systems should ultimately depend less on monoculture as their farming technique.

This team examined the preparation of coffee in home, in order to understand which coffee brewing techniques are the most environmentally sustainable. They took into account how the various coffee machines are created, how the machine makes coffee and uses energy, and waste disposal. French press, the manual method they examined, was the least harmful, followed by drip filter machines. Fully automatic espresso machines and especially high-pressure capsule machines are significantly higher greenhouse gas contributors. Readers interested in sustainable preparation of coffee beverages, coffee sustainability in a retail or grocery store setting, and greenhouse gas emissions will find this article particularly useful.