The pilot is an initiative of Rabobank in alliance with the organization Solidaridad and the Norwegian Initiative for Forests and Climate (NICFI), and incorporates coffee producers in the international market for carbon credits through a process of satellite monitoring. The aim is to scale it up to 5,000 Peruvian producers.
The 25% of deforestation in the Amazon is related to coffee and therefore applying climate-smart and deforestation-free coffee farming models is key for the environment today.
In order to encourage this type of production, Rabobank, in alliance with the international organization Solidaridad, has developed a pilot project of financial incentives for coffee growers that implement a business model under agroforestry systems through the validation of good practices of regenerative and intelligent agriculture, commented Ada Lis Rosell, country manager of Solidaridad.
"This production model that we are promoting in the Amazon region generates improvements in the quality of the coffee rate and, in itself, is a milestone in the coffee sector in Peru because the coffee grower, beyond improving productivity in 20%, will have an additional income for his good practices, which is important because coffee is related to deforestation," she explains.
She reveals that, to date, this bonus has already been granted to 17 producers in the area of San Martin (Moyobamba), but the plan in Peru is to reach more than 5,000 producers in other coffee growing areas in the next two years (2022), allocating S/. 2.75 million.
"If we as a country want to maintain and even have more opportunities in international markets, we have to demonstrate that Peruvian coffee is free of deforestation," she emphasizes.
Coffee challenges
Rosell points out that the most significant problems of the Peruvian coffee industry are low productivity and coffee quality, aspects that are contemplated in the National Coffee Plan.
This document reveals that the low production per hectare, averaging 13 quintals, is one of the factors of greatest concern in terms of agricultural policy.
"This is low, with these indicators producers can reach 30, 40 and 50 quintals per hectare; in Villa Rica there are producers who produce 80 quintals per hectare for example," she indicates.
She explains that in the case of coffee, this variable is even more important as it is a product traded in the commodities market, since the capacity of producing countries to negotiate sales prices is practically nil.
For this reason, actions aimed at increasing the income of coffee growing families should focus mainly on improving the levels of production and efficiency in the management of the crop, he emphasizes.
"The low technical capacity of producers, the high incidence and severity of pests and deforestation in coffee farms have been identified as the main causes of low productivity," she adds.
She also states that just for improving the quality of coffee a producer can receive 30% more in price, and if to this is added the good practices associated with a factor free of deforestation under agroforestry systems, they receive a bonus and this is associated with carbon markets.
"With this Rabobank initiative, a carbon credit incentive can be given to a single producer, which would demonstrate that it does not deforest, because at the end of the day, that is what will allow Peru in the short term to maintain and position itself in international markets," she says.
She states that since last year, for example, the European Union has been choosing its suppliers (roasters that buy from Peru, Colombia, among others) on the basis of or with the requirement of non-deforestation.
