Opportunities for enhancing the climate resilience of coffee production through improved crop, soil and water management

Climate change is adversely affecting coffee production, impacting both yields and quality. Coffee production is dominated by the cultivation of Arabica and Robusta coffee, species that represent 99% of production, but both will be affected by climate change. Sustainable management practices that can enhance the resilience of production and livelihoods to climate change are urgently needed as production supports the livelihoods of over 25 million people globally, the majority of whom are smallholder farmers located in the coffee belt spanning the tropics. These communities are already experiencing the impacts of climate change. We conducted a systematic review, identifying 80 studies that describe the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on coffee agroecosystems, or that identify agroecological practices with the potential to enhance climate resilience. Adverse environmental impacts include a reduction in area suitable for production, lower yields, increased intensity and frequency of extreme climate events, and greater incidence of pests and diseases. Potential environmental solutions include altitudinal shifts, new, resilient cultivars, altering agrochemical inputs, and agroforestry. However, financial, environmental and technical constraints limit the availability of many of these approaches to farmers, particularly smallholder producers. There is therefore an urgent need to address these barriers through policy and market mechanisms, and stakeholder engagement to continue meeting the growing demand for coffee.

气候变化正对咖啡生产造成不利影响，同时波及产量与品质。当前咖啡生产以阿拉比卡咖啡（Arabica）与罗布斯塔咖啡（Robusta）种植为主，二者占全球总产量的99%，但两者均会受到气候变化的冲击。由于咖啡生产支撑着全球超2500万人口的生计，其中绝大多数是分布于热带咖啡种植带的小农户，因此亟需可提升生产与生计对气候变化韧性的可持续管理实践。这些社区早已切身感受到气候变化带来的影响。本研究开展了一项系统综述（systematic review），共筛选出80项相关研究：这些研究或阐述了气候变化对咖啡农业生态系统（coffee agroecosystems）的直接与间接影响，或识别出具备提升气候韧性潜力的农业生态实践（agroecological practices）。不利的环境影响包括适宜种植区域缩减、产量降低、极端气候事件强度与发生频率提升，以及病虫害发生率升高。潜在的环境解决方案包括海拔区位转移、培育新型抗逆品种、调整农用化学品投入以及发展农林业（agroforestry）。然而，资金、环境与技术层面的制约限制了多数此类方案在农户——尤其是小农户——中的推广应用。因此，亟需通过政策与市场机制、利益相关方参与来破除这些障碍，以持续满足日益增长的咖啡消费需求。