TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A study by scientists from the University of Texas at Austin and five other institutions, has shown that global coffee production has been promoting coffee farming in a not-eco-friendly style.
The study, published on April 16 in the journal BioScience, has found that the total global production of shade grown coffee has increased since 1996, but the area of land used for non-shade coffee has increased at a much faster rate, resulting in shade grown coffee falling from 43 percent of total cultivated area to 24 percent.
Traditional shade grown coffee is cultivated under a diverse canopy of native forest trees in dense to moderate shade. Though some of the forest understory is cleared for farming, a rich web of plant and animal life remains. As a result, this method of growing coffee is considered safe for the environment.
"The paradox is that there is greater public interest than ever in environmentally, friendly coffee, but where coffee production is expanding across the globe, it tends to be very intensive," says Shalene Jha, assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences and lead study author, as written in the official website of University of Texas.
Jha and colleagues say the shifting trends toward Asia and a more intensive style of farming are driven by a dramatic drop in global coffee prices in recent years. To remain profitable, some growers have moved, seeking lower land and labor costs and higher short-term yields.
"Intensive coffee production is not sustainable," Jha continued. "You exhaust the soil and after a couple of decades, it can no longer grow coffee. On the other hand, the oldest coffee farms in the world have thrived for centuries because the forest replenishes the soil for them."
MCT | MAHARDIKA
