Climate Smart coffee in Guatemala

Abstract

Guatemala is the second-largest coffee producer in Central America after Honduras. The coffee sector is a driver of the rural economy, providing incomes for over 122000 farmers, 98% of whom are smallholders. Guatemalan coffee production generates half a million jobs in the rural economy, nearly 10% of the national active labor force. Approximately 3.3 million 60kg bags of coffee beans are produced annually. Shade grown high-quality arabica coffee for international markets is the norm in the fields of the caficultores (coffee farmers). Consumer demand has driven the growth of exports of Strictly High Bean, the highest quality produced in Guatemala which accounts for approximately 83% of exports. The total value of exports makes up 14% of the total export value or 651m in USD. It is the second most important agricultural product after sugar in terms of foreign revenue earnings. Current coffee production areas are projected to experience a gradual increase in temperatures towards more extreme ranges as well as periods of drought and heavy rainfall. Annual temperatures are projected to increase by 1.7ºC-2.0ºC and total annual precipitation is projected to decrease between 0.8% in the southern coast and 6% in the border between the north and northeastern regions. The climate-smart agriculture (CSA) concept reflects an ambition to improve the integration of agriculture development and climate responsiveness. It aims to achieve food security and broader development goals under a changing climate and increasing food demand. CSA initiatives sustainably increase productivity, enhance resilience, and reduce/remove greenhouse gases (GHGs). While the concept is new and still evolving, many of the practices that make up CSA already exist worldwide and are used by farmers to cope with various production risks. Mainstreaming Climate Smart Coffee (CSC) requires critical stocktaking of the sector fundamentals, already evident and projected climatic developments relevant to coffee production and promising practices for the future, and of institutional and financial enablers for CSC adoption. This CSC profile provides a snapshot of a developing baseline created to initiate discussion, both within countries and globally, about entry points for investing in CSC at scale.