Coffee in the crosshairs of climate change: agroforestry as abatis

ABSTRACTCoffee producers face a host of challenges linked to climate change, a situation especially evident in much of Latin America. Recent publications and the results of an informal survey presented here confirm that growers now confront rising temperatures, distorted rain patterns, and increased problems with pests and disease – all of which threaten production and possibly even current coffee lands’ suitability for future harvests. The industry’s response has been to fund and promote new varieties designed to contend with the challenges, involving a plant breeding scheme that will undoubtedly take years to put into effect and be fully realized. Yet, the extant cultural practice of producing coffee within an agroforestry setting provides a ready-made and widely known land use that could help defend coffee from much of the onslaught that climate change brings to producers. Review of relevant literature and responses from the survey – “voices at origin” – allow for an argument to be made in favor of pro...