Project Narrative

CONTEXT In the Cauca and Nariño regions, watersheds and the shade coffee landscape have been threatened by uncontrolled deforestation, started 20 years ago, due to rapid expansion of agriculture and through cattle grazing mostly in the highest parcels of the valley.Coffee farmers are mainly affected by degrading coffee farming conditions: regular pests and diseases affecting their coffee fields and yields; loss of biodiversity, reduced pollination, reduced natural pest control, reduced water resources (quantity and quality).The coffee farms are also highly vulnerable to external disturbances (natural and market): farmers are dependent on coffee revenues with high market price volatility; increasing prices of chemical inputs (fertilizers and chemicals). This vulnerability is strengthened by climate change and always more frequent extreme climatic events (prolonged droughts, heavy rains, storms, landslides, etc.), affecting coffee farms with limited resilience to extreme events in the absence of appropriate agricultural systems and natural protection. Moreover, the coffee fields are usually set-up on steep slopes and face important problems of erosion and landslides.