CATIE and ECOM promote sustainable agroforestry in Costa Rican coffee farms

• The alliance is formed to develop more environmentally responsible and respectful practices in the country's coffee sector, addressing the dynamic assessment of shade in coffee plantations, adjustments in design, and sustainable management of productive models.   

November 30, 2023. In an effort to strengthen the coffee sector in Costa Rica, the Agroindustrial Corporation ECOM and the CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center) establish a partnership to train 20 technicians responsible for coffee farms in the Western Valley, Orosi, and Turrialba. 

Under the coordination of Elias de Melo, a professor and researcher for the Agroforestry and Genetic Improvement Unit in Coffee and Cocoa at CATIE, the goal is to enhance the necessary skills for the diagnosis, design, redesign, and management of regenerative agroforestry systems. 

"For CATIE, collaborations like this allow us to directly contribute to strengthening the capacities of technicians and producer families for the transformation of coffee farming towards adaptation and mitigation of climate change, bridging the gap between science, challenges, and opportunities in coffee-producing territories," expanded de Melo.  

Knowledge Exchange  

The training process involved the application of a thematic diagnosis and two workshops: one virtual and another in-person. The latter took place at CATIE's facilities in Turrialba on November 24 of the current year, delving into theoretical and practical aspects of designing and managing coffee plantations under agroforestry systems. 

Participants included specialists in agronomy and forestry in the care of coffee farms, as well as seven students from CATIE's Graduate School who assisted in organizing and facilitating events within the "Participatory Implementation of Sustainable Production Systems" course. 

Among the highlighted comments from the group was the practical relevance of the acquired knowledge and the dynamism of the methodologies used to integrate sustainable approaches into the daily management of coffee farms. They also expressed gratitude to CATIE and ECOM for leading these initiatives. 

On the collaborative work between ECOM and CATIE 

Since 2019, ECOM has been developing the Sustainable Agroforestry Project (PAS) through its SMS department, an initiative that has distributed 515,000 trees to over 900 coffee producers. This effort has been supported by the promotion of a network of nurseries, led by 40% women, using around 30 different tree species through CATIE's Forest Seed Bank.  

For Erick Naranjo, coordinator of PAS at ECOM, this alliance represents "a very valuable training opportunity that serves for continuous improvement in the project's implementation, always with the goal of transferring knowledge and tools to producers so they can establish agroforestry systems in the best way and obtain the maximum benefits on their farms."  

The collaboration between private companies and educational entities demonstrates that synergy between the productive sector and research can be key to promoting more responsible and environmentally respectful practices in the country's agriculture. 

"For us, CATIE represents trust, as it has global recognition, supported by the quality of its professors and many years of research. We hope to continue sharing these types of experiences and knowledge exchanges," concluded Naranjo.