Why coffee producers need better access to technology to reach carbon emissions goals

To secure a sustainable future for the coffee industry, reducing carbon emissions is absolutely essential. Although all levels of the supply chain produce emissions – from roasteries to the transportation of coffee – the focus is often on coffee farms.

Many would agree that it’s never been more important to minimise the environmental impact of coffee production. In January 2024, the European Union’s climate service reported that the previous year was the hottest on record – driven by human-induced climate change.

Rising air and sea temperatures, as well as unpredictable weather patterns and more erratic rainfall, are sure to impact coffee producers in increasingly challenging ways. And with mounting pressure to reduce carbon emissions on coffee farms, the industry needs to support producers as much as possible.

Technology plays a key role in this, and coffee farmers require better access if they are to meet emissions targets.

To learn more, I spoke to Joao Moraes, Tizita Sileshi, and Miguel Amado at sustainable fertiliser manufacturer and crop nutrition solutions company Yara. Read on for more of their insight.

The growing need to reduce carbon emissions in coffee production

If not adequately addressed in the coming years, the climate crisis presents a major threat to global coffee production and the people who make a living from it. In fact, a 2023 study published in the PLOS Climate journal found that global warming will lead to “ongoing systemic shocks” in coffee farming, which is likely to reduce both yields and quality.

Many farmers across the Bean Belt are already feeling the effects of climate change – and thereby must find new ways to adapt to more erratic weather patterns. Naturally, this means that as an industry, we need to be making more concerted efforts to reduce our environmental impact.

Tizita Sileshi is the Director of Food Chain & Sustainability at Yara Americas. She explains why it’s so important to reduce carbon emissions in the coffee supply chain – particularly at farm level.

“As global coffee consumption rises, pressure on habitats and forests intensifies – emphasising the urgent need to adopt more sustainable coffee production methods,” she says. “Additionally, climate change is projected to negatively affect global coffee production, with yield reductions and changes to the suitability of land expected.”

Over the past few years, a growing number of studies have indicated that up to half of the land used to grow high-quality coffee around the world could become unproductive by 2050. There’s no doubt that this would have devastating consequences on the entire industry.

“Coffee’s carbon footprint is substantial, with production contributing over half of the supply chain emissions, mainly due to water and fertiliser use,” Tizita says. “Reducing carbon emissions has become a critical priority to mitigate impact on the planet and ensure a more sustainable future for coffee cultivation and consumption.”

Access to technology is key to reducing emissions

In many producing countries, coffee farmers are already implementing sustainable practices on their farms – and seeing tremendous results. But without access to technology to track the true impact of these measures, it can be difficult for producers to understand how they can make further improvements.

Miguel Amado is the Latin American Director for Innovation, Marketing, and Business Excellence at Yara. He reiterates that technology plays a crucial role in advancing sustainability efforts in coffee.

“It’s a key factor in the development of new farming input alternatives, such as low-carbon fertilisers,” he says. “Technology is also essential in improving agricultural management decisions made on farms, and in transitioning from reactive management models to predictive models.”

For context, reactive farm management is when producers implement different practices in response to changes that have already occurred. These changes could be insect damage to coffee plants or a loss of minerals in soil – which can have detrimental consequences to crop yields and quality.

Predictive (or proactive) farm management, meanwhile, can prevent these changes and issues from happening in the first place. This is because by collecting data and using technology, producers can predict patterns or trends before they take place, and then act accordingly.

Joao Moraes is the Director of New Ag Business at Yara Americas. He emphasises how important data collection and analysis is for coffee farmers.

“Data is directly connected to sustainability,” he says. “With carbon emissions measured per kilogram of coffee, the identification of production gaps helps drive the implementation of actionable insight and recommendations based on science and research.

“Measuring and reporting over time is key to achieving excellent results and providing value chain stakeholders with visibility on their sustainability key performance indicators and commitments to consumers,” he adds.

Supporting producers by improving access to technology

Over the past couple of decades, it’s certainly true that access to technology has improved for coffee producers around the world – even helping to connect them with consumers. There needs to be more progress, however, in order to bolster sustainable efforts in the supply chain.

“To reduce carbon emissions at farm level, we need to integrate both technology and financial resources into robust agricultural extension programmes,” Miguel says. “These processes usually require drastic changes, where ongoing support to follow up with farmers plays a fundamental role in achieving the required impact.”

In order for producers (particularly smallholders) to implement these changes to their farming practices, they need support from other supply chain actors.

“The decarbonisation journey starts with addressing farmer wellbeing, dignity, and prosperity,” Joao explains. “The vast majority of producers need more technical and financial support, and the main driver of decarbonising coffee production is to increase yields and quality.

“This is intimately connected to improving access to technology so we can identify production gaps and assist farmers with transitioning to more regenerative agriculture practices – and make their businesses more profitable,” he adds.

Knowledge (and data) is power

Supporting data collection and analysis in coffee production plays a pivotal role in improving sustainable practices. Tizita tells me that Yara created its new Champer platform as a direct response to this – which will be officially launched at the 2024 Specialty Coffee Expo in Chicago on 11 & 12 April.

“The idea behind the Champer platform is to improve transparency,” she says. “Some farmers are making the required investment, delivering good yields, and producing quality coffee, while others need more support to change their practices. We want to improve visibility in the supply chain of how yields and quality are increasing, as well as key sustainability indicators that traders, roasters, and consumers want to see.”

Tizita explains that the Champer platform can help producers identify and monitor key performance areas to not only reduce carbon emissions, but to also improve soil health. The platform also provides coffee farmers with actionable insight, tracks their progress in implementing new practices, and facilitates reporting to other supply chain stakeholders.

“As a result of this increased transparency, Yara (and the entire coffee value chain) can respond to issues at farm level and address producers’ needs more effectively,” Tizita tells me. “From our experience, we already know that a one-solution-for-all approach doesn’t work as well.”

Meeting carbon emissions goals is a collective effort

To be a truly sustainable process, producers need to have direct input in how carbon emissions are reduced on their farms. But it is a collaborative effort to implement these changes as effectively as possible, which means supply chain actors must work together – and technology can assist with this.

“Although Yara’s Champer was developed to target the needs of other value chain actors (mainly roasters), the success of the platform ultimately depends on mobilising the entire industry,” Joao tells me. “This includes farmers, co-operatives, NGOs, input distributors, regulators, certification bodies, traders, and research and development agencies, as well as other stakeholders.”

Consumer demand for sustainably-grown coffee is on the rise, so better traceability and transparency about how producers are minimising their environmental impact only benefits the industry as a whole.

“In addition to capturing and sharing data about production and sustainability indicators, Champer provides actionable insight to further improve regenerative agricultural practices,” Joao explains. “As a result, we can help build long-term relationships that are anchored on an in-depth knowledge base between committed farmers and other stakeholders.”

Empowering producers to make informed decisions

Reducing carbon emissions on coffee farms is not an easy task, so providing producers with support from traders, agronomists, roasters, and more is paramount. However, farmers also need to be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and insight to make their own decisions.

Miguel says that Champer places significant focus on soil health – one of the most important aspects of regenerative agriculture – for this reason. The new platform enables users to track the progress of key indicators of soil health, so producers can optimise nutrition management and monitor improvements.

What’s more, he tells me that the platform captures and generates actionable insights for a number of other variables, including fertiliser input and yields.

With more accurate baselines in place, producers can become better informed about the key areas for improvement to reach their carbon emissions goals – and potentially improve their profitability, too.

The climate crisis is already taking a toll on coffee production, so the need to mitigate and adapt to these challenges is more crucial than ever before. Reducing carbon emissions and transitioning to regenerative agricultural practices are essential parts of the equation.

Improving producers’ access to technology will undoubtedly ensure the coffee industry as a whole can hit its carbon emissions goals. But at the same time, supply chain stakeholders must band together and work collectively to ensure these efforts are as effective as possible.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article exploring regenerative agriculture in coffee production.

Photo credits: Yara Colombia, Yara Mexico, Joao Moraes

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