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CIAT is at the forefront of efforts to help
coffee farmers in Central America rise to the challenge of
climate change. The organization will play a key role in a
project to study the impact of rising temperatures and decreasing
rainfall on coffee production in the region, and identify
ways for farmers to adapt. The project is one of four to receive
a grant under Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR)'s
Changing
Climate Change initiative, which is to provide a total
of $800,000 to organizations working to address climate change.
Coffee is a major source of income for small producers in
Central America and many growers are already experiencing
falling yields due to warmer, drier weather. Pioneering CIAT
research has shown that high-quality, high-value coffee crops
are particularly susceptible to even minor variations in temperature
and rainfall. At the same time, higher temperatures mean there
are new opportunities for farmers at higher altitudes to move
into coffee production.
CIAT's Peter Laderach said: "Central America is set
to experience drastic changes in climate so coffee production
needs to become more effective and sustainable. This will
require a coordinated response to adapt the whole supply chain,
from the field to the roasting house."
The 5-year project, Coffee Under Pressure, sponsored
by GMCR, will see CIAT join forces with US development agency
Catholic Relief Services (CRS).
With its strong track record in climate modeling tools , CIAT
will provide the scientific expertise to develop finely-tuned
adaptation strategies; CRS will then assist farmers in putting
the recommendations into practice. Possible measures could
involve the planting of shade crops to protect coffee plants,
to diversifying production into alternative cash crops such
as cacao.
"Farmers today are making decisions that have 10-to-15-year
horizons," continued Laderach. "We need be certain
that they are the best decisions."
The project is due to begin in June 2009, and will initially
focus on coffee production in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras,
with subsequent work in El Salvador and Mexico.
About CIAT
CIAT is a not-for-profit organization that conducts socially
and environmentally progressive research aimed at reducing
hunger and poverty and preserving natural resources in developing
countries. CIAT is one of the 15 centers funded mainly by
the 64 countries, private foundations, and international organizations
that make up the Consultative Group on International Agricultural
Research (CGIAR).
www.ciat.cgiar.org
Contact: Andy Jarvis (a.jarvis@cgiar.org),
Land Use Project, CIAT. Phone: +57 (2) 4450100 (ext. 3682),
Cali, Colombia.
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