The World Resources Institute’s (WRI) Coastal Resilience Practice has published the results of two years’ worth of research on the impact of climate change on coffee production in Costa Rica — a country known globally for its high-quality coffee — in a new practice note.
By 2050, absent adaptation measures, experts project that climate change will reduce the global areas suitable for growing coffee by about 50 per cent.
After working closely with local coffee farmers and government ministries, WRI identified six key adaptation solutions it says can help boost climate resilience for Costa Rica’s coffee sector.
These are:
- promote promising adaptation options identified by stakeholders such as diversifying incomes of farmers and replanting farms with climate-resilient coffee varieties, with regular technical follow-up;
- establish baselines and monitor the impacts of adaptation measures;
- map out when and where coffee may no longer be viable in the coming decades, and how to support those farmers who may need to shift away from coffee;
- Reinforce existing institutions and enabling factors to increase the uptake of adaptation measures and build greater resilience;
- develop farmer-tailored business education;
- and expand peer-to-peer learning between farmers.
Despite its local focus, WRI says the findings could be applied to other coffee-growing countries, like Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Vietnam, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and Uganda.
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