How coffee agrofarms can support forest conservation

The growing appetite for specialty coffee in India has also driven the demand for it to be more sustainably sourced. New research from the Western Ghats proposes coffee agrofarms could be sites not only for in-situ biodiversity conservation – meaning growing a variety of species on their farms – but also be sources of seeds and seedlings for forest restoration in nearby areas.

In India, coffee is typically grown in rain-rich regions under the shade of trees, making the rainforests of the Western Ghats an ideal destination for cultivation. Growing coffee under shade takes longer and results in smaller yields compared to coffee grown under the sun but produces a higher quality bean with a more full-bodied taste.

In coffee agroforests that use a diversity of native tree species for shade, seeds that are normally cleared by farmers during canopy pruning can instead be collected, or “rescued,” in order to facilitate forest conservation and restoration, the research proposes.

“In the past, some of those seeds might have survived and those trees might have grown, but today they’re getting slashed because farmers do not want trees growing in places that will compromise the productivity of their crop,” explained Anand Osuri, a scientist with the Nature Conservation Foundation and...

Read more