Photo by Jonas Ferraresso.
[Publisher’s note: This is Part 4 of a short series of stories by guest author Jonas Ferraresso exploring some of the intricacies of the Brazilian coffee market and Brazil’s outsize influence on the global coffee trade. Find all the stories here.]
What is the best production model that combines good agricultural practices, low environmental impact and high productivity? Just as important, is this model accessible and applicable to all types of coffee producers?
When it comes to sustainable agriculture, especially in coffee, we often have many more of these types of questions than we have answers.
Even within a single origin like Brazil, coffee production systems vary widely. The country is home to thousands of smallholder families farming fewer than 10 hectares, alongside highly technified producers managing estates with more than 200 hectares.
This diversity can help explain how Brazilian coffee farming can remain so deeply innovative while also meeting intense global production demands.
Photo by Jonas Ferraresso.
The story of Brazilian coffee today is ultimately one of adaptation under pressure. As climate change reshapes growing conditions, global markets create economic volatility and sustainability demands intensify, producers of all sizes are finding ways to share knowledge, adopt new practices and maintain resilience.
This spirit of innovation fights against the sobering reality that the future of coffee production is far from guaranteed, even in the world’s most prolific coffee-growing country.
Cross-Pollination of Knowledge
Larger producers, equipped with more capital, can afford to take greater risks and test new technologies, such as more efficient irrigation systems, novel crop management techniques, inputs or coffee varieties that are more drought-, disease- and heat-resistant — all with an eye toward productivity.
Such experimentation, often on “private test fields,” typically reinforce findings already presented by respected research institutions like IAC (Instituto Agronômico de Campinas), PROCAFÉ, and EPAMIG.
Small and medium producers living alongside the larger estates may observe these results and adopt similar technologies on their farms, a phenomenon that gradually builds resiliency within Brazil’s overall coffee sector with each harvest cycle.
One prominent example is drip irrigation, which has proven to be more efficient than traditional sprinkler systems. After first proving its value among larger estates, the system has become increasingly popular among mid-size and small farms.
This technological expansion, through the natural spillover of knowledge, has been essential in preserving coffee’s viability in many parts of the country.
Although irrigation can be controversial, it’s important to understand that many of these smaller farms have been cultivating coffee for decades. The decline in rainfall is a climate-driven phenomenon that emerged long after these farms were established, and relocation for many is not possible.
Spillover of knowledge can run both ways. For example, cover cropping between coffee rows — using grasses like Brachiaria, or nitrogen-fixing plants such as Crotalaria, forage radish or guandu beans — originated primarily among smaller farms before spreading to larger neighbors.
This kind of bilateral knowledge exchange is a powerful dynamic in Brazilian agriculture.
Regenerative Agriculture Movement
Although representing just a fraction of coffee production, the global movement towards “regenerative agriculture” practices has taken hold in Brazil on farms of all sizes.
Growers are increasingly embracing sustainability in all its forms, such as increased use of organic matter in soils combined with beneficial microbes. Similarly, biological products for improving plant health and combating pests are offering alternatives to traditional chemical applications.
Despite increased adoption of these and other practices — which some might argue are essential to the long-term sustainability of the Brazilian coffee sector in the face of climate change — Brazil faces numerous challenges.
As with other coffee-producing countries, there is an aging rural population, labor shortages and rising production costs. Sustainability takes time and money, and while the long-term rewards are real, the risks tied to investing in coffee farming remain high.
Over the past decade, we’ve seen thousands of coffee farms converted into pasture or land for annual crops like soybeans, corn, or sorghum, a trend that was accelerating at an alarming pace. Thankfully, more favorable coffee prices in recent years have restored some optimism, encouraging farmers to renovate underperforming areas with newer, more productive and resilient varieties.
While many younger growers have been drawn to coffee given the higher prices, Brazil’s coffee fields still rely heavily on traditional producers to meet the country’s massive production demands.
As such, regenerative agriculture remains largely a movement within the Brazilian coffee sector, as opposed to a mainstream approach.
Coffee is Not Guaranteed
The world’s coffee supply is never guaranteed, and Brazil continues to feel pressure as the world’s largest coffee producer.
In addition to climate and economic volatility tied to global commodity markets, we face broader uncertainties, from geopolitical conflict to macroeconomic instability. The majority of these issues tend to extend well beyond the control of producers, who must react to economic and political events.
If your question is, “Have recent trade tariffs impacted the sustainability of coffee farms in Brazil,” unfortunately, the answer is an emphatic yes.
As with any business, managing a coffee farm, whether family-run or large-scale, involves constantly weighing risks and opportunities before making investments. Growing coffee is a long-term endeavor with modest short- and mid-term returns, even under the most favorable conditions.
Adding uncertainties to an already complex financial equation is never welcome, and typically new investments in sustainable or experimental growing practices are the first to get cut.
Given these realities, of course there is no single formula for sustainable coffee production in Brazil.
Yet fortunately, there are numerous research institutions that are actively working on sustainable, economically viable solutions to ensure that coffee production can continue for generations, regardless of whether growers are traditional veterans or newcomers.
Meanwhile, the farmers of Brazil continue to show remarkable persistence and resiliency amidst the turbulence of the times.
Publisher’s note: Daily Coffee News does not engage in sponsored content of any kind. Any statements or opinions expressed belong solely to the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Daily Coffee News or its management.
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Jonas Ferraresso
Jonas Leme Ferraresso holds an agronomy degree from São Paulo State University (UNESP). He has worked as a coffee farmer, a coffee agronomist and as an advisor for several farms in Brazil.
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