Creating Capacity for Ecological-Based Reasoning in the Management of Coffee in Central America

Building Ccapacity for Eecological-based Rreasoning in Ffarmer Mmanagement of sShaded Ccoffee in Central America CAPS for first letter.Building Capacity for Ecological-based Reasoning in Farmer Management of Shaded Coffee in Central America

Haggar, J., Guhuray F., Monterroso, D., Staver, C., Aguilar A., Barrios M., Mendoza R., Monterrey J., Rugama R..

Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y EnseñanzaATIE MIP/AF, Managua, Nicaragua.

ABSTRACT

Abstract CAPS*

Central American coffee farmers have faced a series of environmental, ecological and economic challenges over the past two decades. Green revolution technology has offered little preparationed for farmers, particularly small, farmers to cope with face these challenges. Through participatory research, agroecological research agroecological diagnostic tools were developed to help farmers understand the ecological changes relations in their coffee systems and make better informed management decisions management decisions about their management. These techniques have been disseminated to over 9000 farmers and 240 technicians across Central America, leading to reductions in pesticide use while , whilebut maintaining yields. Current challenges are to improve farmer decision-making in the economic management and marketing of their produce in an environment of historically llow world coffee prices.

INTRODUCTION

Introduction [CAPS]*

Farmers in Central America face variability and uncertainty. The past decades brought hurricanes Mitch, Joan, and Gilbert among others, and at other times droughts. Weather variability affects crop growth and alters the effectiveness of cropping practices. The year with average rainfall is unusual. Irregular rainfall in 2000 and 2001 caused crop failure in the Pacific regions of Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador. For farm families, weather variability means making decisions in crop management under extreme uncertainty. Variability has manifested itself in dimensions beyond weather. In recent decades new pests have been introduced into the Isthmus. The arrival of berry borer (Hypothenemus vastatrix) in Guatemala in 1971 and leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix) in Nicaragua in 1976, which subsequently spread though Central America, brought large changes. The greater incidence of coffee rust under shade led to the removal or reduction of shade over large areas of Central America. At the same time new varieties were being promoted that provided substantially higher yields with high levels of fertilizer application, but requiring high light environment. This change in the ecological conditions under which coffee was being produced led to increased incidence of previously unimportant diseases e.g. iron spot Cercospora coffeicola, and pests such as leaf miner (Leucoptera coffeella), as well as increased weed growth that required the use of herbicides to control (Samayoa and Sanchez, 2000). In some cases, e.g. Pacific Nicaragua, the use of insecticides to control leaf miner resulted in the resurgence of another pest, mealy bug (Planococcus citri), as their natural predators were eliminated by the insecticide (Monterrey pers. com.). Prices of agricultural products have also fluctuated wildly. International coffee prices have fallen to below $50 per 46 kg sack twice, but have also surged to over $200 per sack. Nevertheless, during the last decade the market has diversified into niche products which were unknown a decade ago– gourmet, organic, fair trade, and bird-friendly.

To name a few – coffee berry borer, coffee rust, itch grass, Monilia, black sigatoka. Technological change has favored the spread of certain existing pests. Irrigation and year round cropping have favored white flies and virus in vegetables and beans; shade reduction in coffee has accentuated iron spot, nematodes, and annual weeds in coffee. Overuse of pesticides continues to contribute to local pest outbreaks. Over the same time period prices for agricultural products have fluctuated wildly.

International coffee prices have fallen to below $50 per __ twice, but have also surged to over $200 per __. At the same time the market has diversified into niche products which were unknown a decade ago– gourmet, organic, fair trade, and bird-friendly.

Variability is not only a result of factors external factors such as weather, pest outbreaks or markets. There is considerable variability between and within the farms in the same region. Green revolution technology has tried to uniformize this variablity through the use of large quantities of external inputs, while small farmers have traditionally tried to utilize the variability within their farms. Among small coffee farmers in the same community in northern Nicaragua the incidence of coffee pests such as berry borer or leaf rust varies several fold. Similarly family size and income varies 3-4 fold (E. Perez, unpubl. data). The new coffee production system thus required high use of pesticides to control diseases, pests, weeds and high use of chemical fertilizers to promote high enough yields to cover the increased costs of production. Under moderate to -high market prices, green revolution technology coffee production was more profitable per hectare, but production costs may be 5-6 times higher than traditional production (Clemens and Siman, 1993). Lack of credit for small coffee farmers in most of Central America, except Costa Rica, has led to irregular application of green revolution technologies where farmers have tried to apply them. Through analysis with local specialists it was concluded that improvements in production were possible through the implementation of better cultural practices, without increasing use of inputs., the exception being Costa Rica. Currently, in an environment of extremely low coffee prices it appears that the lower production costs per tonne and low cash investment in production have enabled small coffee farmers to survive the price crash better than medium or large farmers who depend on credit to finance application of agrochemicals. Nevertheless, existing technological packages and training and technical assistance programs were not enabling farmers to improve their crop yields, which are a tenth that of high-tech farmers.

The development objective of the “Program on ecologically based implementation of integrated pest management and coffee agroforestry in Nicaragua and Central America” run by CATIE has been to improve small farmer decision-making in the management of their crops in a low agrochemical use environment through a better understanding of the ecological relationships that determine the environmental health and productivity of the coffee plantation. The program started as an integrated pest management project and subsequently expanded to include all aspects of coffee management. Management tools were developed within a participatory research framework with groups of coffee farmers. Emphasis was given to the development of diagnostic tools to help farmers make better informed decisions about the management of their coffee. I think this might be a good place to lay out the arguments of the rest of the paper, also make reference to the beginnings of the program and the donor.

ECOLOGICAL-BASED REASONING FOR INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT

Ecological-based reasoning for Integrated Pest Management [CAPS?]*

In the area of pest management the limitations of chemical management of pests individually can be seen in the history of coffee management. he arrival of berry borer (Hypothenemus vastatrix) in Guatemala in 1971 and leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix) in Nicaragua in 1976, which subsequently spread though Central America, brought large changes. The greater incidence of coffee rust under shade led to the removal or reduction of shade over large areas of Central America. At the same time new varieties were being promoted that provided substantially higher yields with high levels of fertilizer application, but requiring high light environment. This change in the ecological conditions under which coffee was being produced led to increased incidence of previously unimportant diseases e.g. Cercospora coffeicola, and pests such as leaf miner (Leucoptera coffeella), as well as increased weed growth that required the use of herbicides to control (Samayoa and Sanchez 2000, Fernandez and Muschler 1999). In some cases, e.g. Pacific Nicaragua, the use of insecticides to control leaf miner resulted in the resurgence of another pest mealy bugs (Planococcus citri), as their natural predators were eliminated by the insecticide (Monterrey pers com).

Since 1989 the Integrated Pest Management project run by CATIE, and funded by NORAD, has been developing methods to provide an alternative technological development pathway for small farmers. The limitations of chemical management of pests individually has been seen in the history of coffee management, described above. The objective of this project has been to improve small farmer decision-making in the management of their crops in a low agrochemical use environment through a better understanding of the ecological relationships that determine the environmental health and productivity of their coffee plantations. The program started as an integrated pest management project, but through the 90’s expanded its approach to include all aspects of coffee management including resistance to pests as this closely relates to overall crop vigor. Furthermore, in the case of coffee, pests were only one of several limitations to farmers’ increasing yields. Management tools were developed within a participatory research framework with groups of coffee farmers. Emphasis was given to the development of diagnostic tools to help farmers make better informed decisions about the management of their coffee.

This new coffee production system thus required high use of pesticides to control diseases, pests, weeds and high use of chemical fertilizers to promote high enough yields to cover the increased costs of production. One approach developed to reduce the use of pesticides is to monitor the incidence of pests and only apply when levels were sufficiently high to justify application, as opposed to calendarized applications to ensure pests do not develop. Separate monitoring of all possible pests and diseases is laborious and so an integrated pest scoring system was developed and tested in Nicaragua (Guhuray et all., 2000). While conventional IPM may be relevant for medium to large-scale farms which use pesticides regularly, the majority of small coffee farmers in Central America apply pesticides irregularly with availability of money being as important as the incidence of pests in determining their use. Furthermore, for many resource poor farmers, the formats for integrated pest scoring are too complex for them to use without assistance. This also applies to the use of other inputs in the management of coffee, particularly fertilizers, the major cash investment required for small-scale coffee production.

For the small farm sector the integrated scoring of pests can has been be combined with the evaluation of other ecological characteristics of the coffee plantation to promote a discussion with farmers on pest-environment interactionsmanagement alternatives. The aim is to identify a new ecological equilibrium in the system that requires lower use of pesticides to sustain a healthy coffee production system (Staver et al., 2001). Rather than promote regular scoring of pests this approach aims to enable farmers to identify ecological conditions, particularly shade-levels, that minimize the incidence of pests present in the system. Farmers can identify the ecological conditions, particularly shade levels, that minimize the incidence of the pests present in the system.** This approach looks to establish a new ecological equilibrium in the system that requires lower use of pesticides to sustain a healthy coffee production system (Staver et al, 2001). It is based on analyzing the existing variability in the coffee agroecosystem to identify the conditions that minimize the incidence of pests. This can be done within a training event and does not necessarily require farmers to undertake scoring or other diagnoses alone..

As part of a participatory research process with tThe Pikin Guerrero Cooperative of Masaya in Nicaragua it was undertook such agreed to undertake an agroecological diagnosis of the coffee plantations. The diagnostic tools were provided by the researchers (Haggar and Staver, 2001), but the interpretation and management conclusions drew upon the knowledge and experience of the farmers. To implement the diagnosis the coffee plantation was divided into lots with different characteristics. In each lot the farmers conducted a diagnosis of the shade cover, scored pests, disease and weed incidence, and an estimated crop production (summarized in Table 1). (Table 1Analysis of the relationships between pests, shade and production in the different lots enabled the farmers to come to the following management decisions.

a.  In the Zapote lot, high incidence of coffee leaf rust and coffee berry borer correlated with heavy shade, but there was also a high incidence of aggressive weeds. Farmers conducted a light reduction of shade by pruning the trees.

b.  In the Diamante lot, the high incidence of anthracnosis was attributed to coffee plants stressed by low levels of shade, high incidence of grass weeds and a moderate production. The farmers have planted evergreen shade in place of the deciduous shade to reduce stress on the coffee.

c.  Cola de Ardilla lot, although it exhibited acceptable average shade levels, it had low estimated production, probably due to inherent low fertility of the plot. The farmers have introduced evergreen legume shade trees to the plot to improve soil fertility and in the long-term replace non-legume shade trees. )

Table 1. Agroecological diagnosis done by the Pikin Guerrero Cooperative, Masaya, Nicaragua.

El Diamante
lot / Cola de Ardilla lot / El Zapote lot

Incidence of pests and diseases %

Leaves with leaf rust / 0 / 0.5 / 5.2
Leaves with iron spot / 0 / 9.5 / 8.5
Leaves with anthracnosis / 6.8 / 1 / 0
Fruits with berry borer / 0.3 / 0 / 2.6
Fruits with iron spot / 1.7 / 0.9 / 5.7

Weed cover %

Grasses / 29 / 6 / 24
Broad-leaved perennials / 14 / 8 / 26
Broad-leaved annuals / 12 / 8 / 10
Vines / 13 / 0 / 12
Cover weeds / 20 / 12 / 18
Litter / 0 / 40 / 12
Soil / 12 / 24 / 4

Shade levels %

Dry season / 4 / 42 / 90
Wet season / 46 / 64 / 90

Yield

Estimated production kg/ha / 820 / 600 / 1700

INTEGRATED COFFEE SYSTEM MANAGEMENT

. Based on this diagnosis they identified a series of actions to improve the conditions for the coffee and create conditions less favorable to pests, diseases and weeds. Their conclusions were the following:

Table 1 Agroecological diagnosis done by the Pikin Guerrero Cooperative. [see table in sample manuscript on IFSE web site … omit lines]

Field
El Diamante / Field
Cola de Ardilla / Field Zapote

Incidence of pests and diseases %

Leaves with Hemileia / 0 / 0.5 / 5.2
Leaves with Cercospora / 0 / 9.5 / 8.5
Leaves with Colletotrichum / 6.8 / 1 / 0
Fruits with Hypothenemus / 0.3 / 0 / 2.6
Fruits with Cercospora / 1.7 / 0.9 / 5.7

Weed cover %

Grasses / 29 / 6 / 24
Broad-leaved perennials / 14 / 8 / 26
Broad-leaved annuals / 12 / 8 / 10
Vines / 13 / 0 / 12
Cover weeds / 20 / 12 / 18
Litter / 0 / 40 / 12
Soil / 12 / 24 / 4

Shade levels %

Dry season / 4 / 42 / 90
Wet season / 46 / 64 / 90

Estimated production kg/ha

820 / 600 / 1700

Coffee leaf rust and coffee berry borer were only present in significant quantities where there was excessive shade in the “Zapote” plot, the shade in this area should be reduced. Though incidence of aggressive weeds such as grasses and broad-leaved perennials was also high and reduction of shade may increase their presence if they are not selectively controlled. The high productivity of the site is reflected in the coffee, weeds and also the bananas which are one of the principal shades in this plot.