Challenges

Coffee rust, scientifically known as Hemileia Vastatrix, is a devastating fungal disease that affects coffee plants. It is one of the most destructive diseases in the coffee industry and primarily affects Arabica coffee, which is considered to produce higher-quality coffee beans. Coffee rust appears as orange-yellow powdery spores on the undersides of coffee leaves, which cause the leaves to wither and drop prematurely. As the disease progresses, it can lead to defoliation, reducing the plant’s ability to photosynthesize and ultimately impacting the coffee cherries’ development and yield.

Climate change has a significant impact on coffee rust. Rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns create a more favourable environment for the fungus, allowing it to thrive in regions where it was historically less prevalent. Erratic rainfall and increased vulnerability of coffee plants due to drought stress further exacerbate the problem. As warmer winters prevent the natural die-off of rust spores and stress coffee plants, the disease’s prevalence increases, leading to reduced coffee yields, quality, and economic hardship for coffee growers. Climate change thus poses a substantial threat to the coffee industry, necessitating adaptive strategies and sustainable practices to mitigate the risks associated with coffee rust.

Toward a Solution

The Central American Programme for Integrated Coffee Rust Management (PROCAGICA) aimed to promote climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies while reducing the vulnerability to natural disasters in the region. This assistance targeted regional and national initiatives for coffee rust control, with the ultimate aim of improving the resilience of coffee-producing families in Central America against the adverse effects of climate change and variability. To that ent, the programme promoted sustainable agricultural practices, diversification of crops, and the enhancement of livelihoods.

At its core, the programme is dedicated to alleviating the deteriorating quality of life experienced by coffee-growing families in economically disadvantaged rural areas. These families face a spectrum of challenges, including diminishing productivity of aging coffee plants, insufficient protection against pests and diseases due to technological limitations, the influence of climate variations on their farms, gender inequality, limited access to timely climate predictions and market information, and a lack of a clear vision and value enhancement in their operations.

PROCAGICA also advanced the development of sustainable coffee production models within local social, economic, and environmental contexts to facilitate adaptation to the impacts of climate change in the region. This comprehensive approach encompasses activities such as farm renovation, technical extension and education, facilitating connections to the financial sector, and taking firm actions to strengthen local production organizations and national entities responsible for enhancing the competitiveness and sustainability of the coffee sector.

The initiative is aligned with the Regional Action Plan with Immediate Measures, which is an integrated program designed to combat coffee rust and restore production capacity in Central America and the Caribbean. It was formulated by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Cooperative Program for the Protection and Modernization of Coffee Growing in Central America, Panama, and the Dominican Re This plan received approval from the Central American Agricultural Council (CAC) and was presented at the Summit on Coffee Rust held in Guatemala in April 2013, where governments committed to implementing actions addressing the challenges faced by coffee production in the region.

The Programme employed a strategy of technological innovation to foster the resilience, sustainability, and competitiveness of coffee farming. It advocated and implemented production transformation and innovation processes while enhancing the capacities of current and future producers and national extension networks that provide training and technical assistance to farmer families in the region.

Under the Programme’s framework, technological modelling aimed at improving production viability has been implemented on 9,910 hectares of coffee crops, incorporating environmentally-friendly practices and crop diversification. This has the potential to increase income for farmer families, contribute to food and nutritional security, and generate additional benefits for the conservation of ecosystem biodiversity.

To date, 7,059 small-scale coffee producers (including 35% females and 10% young individuals under 30) affiliated with 199 farmer organizations across 69 municipalities, 13 provinces, and four countries have bolstered their capacity to cope with climate change and mitigate its effects on their coffee plantations through comprehensive crop management.

In collaboration with the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), the Agricultural Research Center for International Development (CIRAD), and national research entities, the Programme established a regional research platform with stakeholders from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Re The platform monitors and scientifically studies coffee rust races and issues disease control recommendations for small- and medium-scale farmers. Additionally, a network of 224 demonstration plots was set up in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.

Food security, particularly the vulnerability of the target population, stands as one of the PROCAGICA’s pillars. By diversifying coffee farms with temporary, perennial, and semi-perennial plants and maintaining year-round production, the Programme has significantly contributed to alleviating the food insecurity of small- and medium-scale farmers, which was exacerbated in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Programme has also benefited from complementarity and synergy with other regional projects.

Competitiveness and sustainability have been positively impacted, resulting in greater cohesion among affiliated producers. The number of members in farmer organizations has increased, several informal groups have formalised their status, and administrative capacities to manage microcredits have improved, thus benefiting the capitalization of many organizations that previously had limited access to credit funds. Currently, 150 farmer organizations have a revolving fund used to finance activities supporting farm management, renovation of coffee farms, and the establishment of new ventures, particularly for women and young associates.

These collective efforts, coupled with the global challenges faced by the coffee sector in recent years due to low coffee prices, have created an important space for regional integration. PROCAGICA has contributed to the development of regional strategic actions, emphasizing the sector’s significance. Through a political consensus spearheaded by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) Center for Knowledge Management and Horizontal Cooperation 5 CAC, the Programme has supported the formulation of the Regional Strategic Plan for Coffee Farming in Mesoamerica and the Caribbean. This plan emerged from a constructive technical dialogue process involving various public and private stakeholders connected to the coffee sector in the region of the Central American Integration System and Mexico.