Agroforestry Coffee
Coffee is a unique crop because it can be grown with other trees, benefiting climate, biodiversity, and farmers alike.
Agroforestry systems (Agrisilvicultural systems) are a nature-based solution that require multidisciplinary knowledge. Drawing from forest and agricultural ecology, it focuses on the associations between forest trees and agrarian species, and the ecosystem services they provide. Compared to monoculture, agroforestry systems offer not only environmental benefits but also social and economic ones as they diversify yield and income, contributing to the improvement of food security for rural people and farmers, all while increasing resilience to climate change.
In the past decades, many coffee plantations have turned into monoculture farming. This contrasts with the coffee plant’s natural environment, which thrives in wide biodiversity ecosystems. By stripping away other plants and trees, coffee monoculture decreases biodiversity, increases land degradation, and makes coffee plants more vulnerable to diseases and pests, often controlled with large amounts of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. However, the reintroduction of trees and other woody perennials through agroforestry practices can contribute to recreating the canopy-like environment in which Coffee Arabica naturally thrives, and to recreate a microclimate with richer, healthier soils, greater biodiversity, and productivity.
Coffee, if produced in a harmonious and nature-respecting way, such as in agroforestry systems or in intercropping with other food crops, carries many positive effects for growers and the environment, including improved biodiversity and resilience to climate change.
Depending on the geographical location, agroforestry may be challenging to adopt, cultivation under shade may not benefit all coffee varieties, and farmers and practitioners may lack information about tree species found in coffee landscapes. However, in many places, agroforestry has proven to be a solution and an effective system that is both resilient and profitable, yielding larger quantities and higher quality beans that also fetch higher prices in the market, benefiting producers. Shade trees on coffee farms are an integral resource for farmers, wildlife, and the coffee crop itself.
With the coffee sector under threat, it is not only the production methods that will make a difference in its sustainability, but also consumption habits.
We, at Peacocks Coffee, have been sourcing coffees focusing on their sensorial attributes in relation to the origin, variety, and processing method since 2018. We also prioritize coffees produced through ethical and healthy soil practices, and that respect fundamental human and labor rights. Our objective is to emphasize and bring to you an excellent selection of coffees produced with such approaches that are also exquisite in the cup.
This is our Agroforestry Coffees selection, and we are proud to share these amazing lots with you.
