Organization of a sustainable agroforestry model for small farmers in the Montes de Oro Region, Puntarenas, Costa Rica.

The Montes de Oro Region, in the Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica, is a marginal agricultural area with coffee production as the main activity. The region faces a number of social and economic problems, worsened by the reduction in forest areas, increase in soil erosion, absence of sustainable land production alternatives and heavy dependence to imported pesticides. This project looked to protect the region’s biodiversity and to contribute to mitigate the negative environmental effects through the implementation of organic coffee production systems, integrating ecological, social and economic factors to offer sustainable and profitable production alternatives. Six components were looked at: associated crops, establishment of shade trees and windbreaks, fertilization, studies of bird diversity and improved coffee processing systems. We present the results of a three year study case.