Helping coffee farmers in Risaralda, Colombia adapt to climate change
Climate change threatens the livelihoods of coffee farmers in Risaralda, Colombia (1,5,6). Most of Risaralda’s coffee farms are 5–12 acres and family-owned, leaving environmental adaptation largely in the hands of each individual family. Farmers operate on slim profit margins strained by crop failures and difficulties in contracting harvesters 3. Climate change has caused the growing conditions for coffee to worsen and disrupted the reproductive cycle of coffee trees (2,5)- with 91% of farmers reporting the change- so that Risaralda’s farms no longer enter the harvest season in unison- causing problems in organizing and hiring farmhands. These challenges leave farmers little time and few resources for researching and implementing sustainability solutions that could protect their crops and economic subsistence in the face of climate change.
Stakeholders: Risaralda’s coffee farmers are the primary stakeholders impacted by failing crops and labor shortages. As business owners, they have the power to form a union and lobby for increased government support of their industry. Additionally, around 66% of farmers have already made some adjustment to their traditional farming practices in an attempt to adapt to changing climate (3). Farmers can employ strategies such as crop diversification, planting shade crops, and collecting rainwater (4,7). However, taking these steps requires time and money, and the issue of labor shortages remains unaddressed. The farmhands as well are stakeholders in this issue, as their situation is one of desiring employment but not being able to offer it at the correct time. Historically, laborers would arrive en masse for the coffee harvest in Risaralda. Now, they arrive and find that only a portion of the coffee is ready for harvest while some has already come and gone and other farms have not yet reached maturity. This labor disorganization harms both those seeking and offering employment (3). Farm hands could to organize in order to provide their services when and where they are needed and to more equitably distribute those jobs available. However, this assumes a degree of communications infrastructure that may be neither present nor accessible to both laborers and farmers. Finally, the threat of climate change to coffee growing operations in Risaralda represents just one portion of a looming crisis for the Colombian government6. A struggling coffee industry threatens the financial stability of the Colombian economy. Coffee is 31% of the nation’s agricultural trade worth $1.97 per year (3). Saving the coffee industry could require major funding inputs from the Colombian government, such as subsidies, educational programs, and technological grants. Failed coffee-growing operations will be an additional drain on government coffers, as farmers may face increasing unemployment and need for government support.
Although not a traditional sentient stakeholder, the environmental effects of Risaralda’s struggling coffee industry are not insignificant. Although climate change as a whole causes species loss and disrupts ecosystem functions, human responses to this problem may benefit the local environment. Farmers who implement sustainable farming practices improve biodiversity and ecosystem function on their land. Farms that go out of business may be allowed to enter the successional process of returning to forest habitat.
Feasibility: Risaralda’s struggling coffee farming industry is not unique within Colombia or even the continent (5). Successful adaptation strategies have been used in both Brazil and Tanzania, and documentation exists that suggests best practices (4,6,7). Those farmers of Risaralda with adequate resources have already begun to use some of these strategies, indicating community willingness to change and adapt as possible. The Colombian government should be willing to consider a policy proposal that increases coffee production, as they are lagging behind their production goals for the year. Government solutions could range from low to high budget, such as best practice education programs, provision of sustainable farming supplies, communication infrastructure improvement for farmhands, coffee subsidies, and reduced land taxes. Environmental advocates will likewise favor education for and implementation of more sustainable farming. Solutions will likely be tractible on a local level and without national government intervention, increasing likelihood of adoption and implementation.
Footnotes:
1 Bunn, C., Läderach, P., Ovalle Rivera, O. et al. (March 2015). A bitter cup: climate change profile of global production of Arabica and Robusta coffee Climatic Change. Volume 129(1–2): 89–101.
2 Camargo, Marcelo Bento Paes de. (2010). The impact of climatic variability and climate change on arabic coffee crop in Brazil. Bragantia, 69(1), 239–247.
3 Elise, J., & White, N. (August 22, 2018). Coffee Farmers Struggle to Adapt to Colombia’s Changing Climate. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/coffee-farmers-struggle-to-adapt-to-colombias-changing-climate-97916
4 Initiative for Coffee and Climate (January 2015).Climate Change Adaptation in Coffee Production: A step-by-step guide to supporting coffee farmers in adapting to climate change. Coffee and Climate.Special Report.
5 Laderach, P., Lundy, M., Jarvis, A. et al. (29 September 2010) The Economic, Social and Political Elements of Climate Change: Predicted Impact of Climate Change on Coffee Supply Chains. Climate Change Management. Conference Paper. 703–723.
6 Ramirez-Villegas, J., Salazar, M., Jarvis, A. et al. (December 2012). A way forward on adaptation to climate change in Colombian agriculture: perspectives towards 2050. Climatic Change. Volume 115(3–4). 611–628.
7 Schroth, G., Laderach, P., Dempewolf, J. et al. (October 2009). Towards a climate change adaptation strategy for coffee communities and ecosystems in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, México. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change. Volume 14(7). 605–625.
