Brazil Archives - initiative for coffee&climate

Qualifying third parties to implement c&c practices

Flemming Kohn — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 13:00:23 +0000

Minas Gerais, Brazil – August 8th, 2018 – In June and July, [inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]coffee&climate conducted several “Training of Trainers” workshops for trainers of overall 18 Fairtrade cooperatives and associations in the Southern Minas region in Brazil.[/inlinetweet] The training was carried out by Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung (HRNS), implementing agent of c&c, in partnership with the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Fair Trade Small Producers and Workers (CLAC).

Throughout our “Training Of Trainers” format we qualify third parties to implement coffee&climate practices.

According to the c&c methodology, the training was split into 5 training modules:

Setting the scene.
Assessment of climate change challenges.
Adaptation planning.
Validation and implementation of adaptation practices.
Learning lessons and understanding progress.

Furthermore, the use of agrochemicals related to Fairtrade certification was reviewed.

During the three-day training the participants conducted local climate risk assessments and developed lists of adaptation options for each of the 18 cooperatives.

Throughout the practical part of the training, the participants learned more about individual adaptation practices like cover crops, afforestation and windbreak barriers, preparation of organic fertilizers, rapid climate risk assessment and models for resilience measurement.

The trainers from ACAPER, ASSOFE, ASSPROCAFE, APAS, APPMC, APROCES, APRMJ, APROD, COOPERVITAE, COOPFAM, COOPASV, COOPERCAFEM, COOMAP, COSTAS 5588, COORPOL, CAFESUL, COOCAFE and COOCECIR will function as multiplier for the coffee sector and share their knowledge with more than 11.000 members of the cooperatives – one big step further towards a resilient and sustainable coffee sector.

Read the full report of the “Training of Trainers” (in Portuguese) here : Relatório “Workshop sobre a Abordagem café&clima”.

Community of Practice: Indicators for Measuring Results and Impacts of Resilience

Flemming Kohn — Mon, 14 May 2018 12:14:19 +0000

Minas Gerais, Brazil – April 9th, 2018 – The third meeting of the Community of Practice (CoP) on climate change adaptations (supported by coffee&climate) took place under the theme “Indicators for measuring results and impacts of resilience” on April 3rd and 4th in the city of Boa Esperança in Minas Gerais (Brazil) at the headquarters of the Cooperativa dos Produtores de Café Especial de Boa Esperança (COSTAS 5588).

On the first day, results related to the ISA methodology (Indicators of Sustainability in Agroecossystems) were presented by Pierre Santos Vilela – Superintendent of the Antônio Ernesto de Salvo Institute (INAES) – FAEMG System. Through this tool it was possible to identify some of the biggest difficulties of producers, such as productive soil capacity and water quality; economic balance of property and contamination of water by agrochemicals. The discussion of the participants of the CoP was directed at the sense of proportions related to the points mentioned above.

Following the lecture, the specialist Victor Vargas (ICAFE – Costa Rica) addressed the actions that are currently being carried out in his country in relation to the mitigation of greenhouse gases. One of the most important actions is the “Carbon Neutral” project (which is a program to reduce and offset greenhouse gas emissions), which follow the laws and regulations of Costa Rica, and undergo inspections to be considered “Carbon Neutral” .

Taking the opportunity, Victor commented that “What I know and share with the Community of Practice, I believe will be the beginning so that Brazil, as a huge coffee producing country in the world, can begin to develop the actions that we will carry out to mitigate the emissions that we cause as a sector. The CoP from what I saw and understood are people from various sectors and who are somehow committed to the environment and are concerned about what is happening, with emissions, with mitigation, anyway. Among the works that are being developed in a practical way, I noticed that there is a commitment where they commit themselves to make a link between the Brazilian governmental organizations in order to carry out a development of mitigation activities. For me the experience was very enriching. I was getting to know a different kind of coffee, a coffee industry that has a lot of emissions, many damages in the sector, many challenges and commitments that I belive will come out of that meeting. What we do in Costa Rica is not the best of the best, but the idea is to try to do something. It is not ‘what’, but something. It’s necessary to start with something, I always say ‘Let’s start by doing something!’ Which I do not know, but let’s start with something. It’s the message I leave to the Community of Practice!”

Victor Vargaz presenting

On the same day the participators visited the property of Mr. Joaquim Donizetti da Silva, cooperated with COSTAS 5588, a producer of conventional and organic coffee. Mr. Joaquim, who adopts both climate adaptation and mitigation practices on his property (interlining coverage, windbreak barriers, organic fertilization, septic tank, etc.) emphasized that: “I always liked challenges. At the beginning I was criticized for the production of organic coffee and started with little. But I now am satisfied with the practices and with the organic, as I observe a greater presence of earthworms in the coffee which was very difficult to see before.”

On the second day of the CoP, the specialist Victor Vargas gave another presentation on the changes that have occurred over time with Costa Rican coffee plantations to adapt to market requirements, adoption of practices to reduce greenhouse gases, the national policies implemented, the institutions responsible and the markets served abroad. Also presented was the Costa Rican project supported by the NAMA Facility: Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions, which is specifically addressed to the coffee sector, and which aims at a favorable transformation in relation to the climate, as it is of great importance for the country.

Following this, Pedro Ronca (Coordinator of the Programa Brasil da Plataforma Global do Café) presented the creation process and the importance of the “Coffee Sustainability Guide”, a document made by and for the coffee chain with the objective of making coffee property implementation of good practice. It was also emphasized the use of 35 indicators used to measure the sustainability of the property.

In the continuity of the event, the measurements of emissions of nitrogen fertilizers were discussed by Dr. Anderson Dominguetti (IF Sul de Minas – Machado), where researches were carried out with efficiency of the nitrogen fertilizers currently available in the market and their sustainability, being desirable to the producer and the environment products that have lower losses due to leaching or volatization.

Mr. Joaquim Donizetti da Silva

At the end of the event, groups were formed and the opportunities, challenges and application of the following methods were discussed: ISA, NAMA, Sustainability Index and Environmental Labeling. The groups finalized with a conclusion on each topic and it was decided on the date and place of the next CoP meeting that will take place in the second half of this year.

We thank for the participation: ACOB, AAFAPO, APROCEM, ASCARIVE, BR-FAIR, COOMAP, COOPFAM, COSTAS, COOPERCAFEM, COOPASV, COOXUPE, ECOM, EPAMIG, FAEMG, Fazenda da Lagoa, GCP, ICAFE Costa Rica, Instituto Federal de Machado, MAPA, UTZ.

Advocacy Meeting Between Community of Practice and the Ministry of Environment in Brazil

Flemming Kohn — Fri, 16 Mar 2018 07:37:10 +0000

Brasília, Brazil – March 16th, 2018 – coffee&climate (c&c) is proud to announce another big step towards a more sustainable coffee production: The Community of Practice (CoP), a local platform powered by c&c brings together stakeholders from the entire coffee production and supply chain. CoP members meet every 4 months to share and discuss knowledge and experiences of successful climate smart agriculture techniques that reduce climate impacts on coffee production.

In the last learning session that took place in December 2017 at the Instituto Federal Campus Machado in Minas Gerais, experiences on ‘good agricultural practices to adapt to climate change’ were systematized and shared. For example practices like cover crops between coffee rows, organic matter, organic-mineral fertilizer, shade trees, afforestation and varieties resistant to pests and diseases and tolerant to adverse conditions of low precipitation. One action point the members of the CoP agreed jointly on was to develop a declaration about theses ‘good agricultural practices to adapt to climate change’ and present it to the Ministry of Environment in Brasilia.

On March 12, a CoP delegation composed of Max Ochoa (Technical Director of Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung do Brasil), Fernanda Faria (c&c Coordinator), Pedro Ronca (GCP), Eduardo Sampaio (UTZ Certified) and Dr. Regis Venturim (EPAMIG) was welcomed by the Ministry of the Environment (MMA). The participating members of the MMA were the Secretary of Climate Change and Forestry, Mr. Everton Frask Lucero, the General Coordinator of Climate, Ms. Celina Xavier de Mendonça, International Affairs Advisor, Mr. Julio Cesar Baena and the Manager of Aquatic Biodiversity, Dr. Jaqueline Leal Madruga.

In the meeting the declaration developed by the CoP members was shared and opportunities for public-private interaction to contribute to the implementation of national adaptation and mitigation objectives were identified.

According to Max Ochoa, “The meeting served to present to the MMA a group of actors who work in various stages within the coffee chain, that are concerned about the sustainability of coffee activities due to the negative impacts of climate change. This concern translates into practical actions aimed at sensitizing producers and motivating the implementation of adaptation practices to increase the resilience of production systems, reducing environmental and socioeconomic risks. ”

The CoP will meet again in April of 2018 to follow up on recent field know-how and to share further success stories on climate smart agriculture practices. The meeting will be held under the theme “Indicators of measurement of results and impacts of resilience”, where experiences will be shared and learnings about the theme will be built.

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coffee&climate at Femagri

Flemming Kohn — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 09:33:47 +0000

Minas Gerais, Brazil – February 21st – 23rd, 2018 – For the third consecutive year, COOXUPE invited Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung do Brasil (HRNS), implementing the initiative for coffee&climate (c&c), to have a space in its “Fazendinha” at FEMAGRI 2018 to demonstrate Good Agricultural Practices: guidelines to increase resilience of coffee production systems.

Eduardo René da Cruz, Technical Development Coordinator of COOXUPE, closely followed the presentations of the exhibitors on the topic of “Fazendinha”, at FEMAGRI, which is organized annually by COOXUPE in the city of Guaxupé in Minas Gerais. He stated, “This is a space to demonstrate how to implement good agricultural practices in the field. We need to take this opportunity to showcase these practices to the producer, the main player in the coffee production chain”. About COOXPUCE’s concern about climate change, Mr Cruz commented, “Only when good adaptation practices are used we get the results we expect to mitigate the effects of climate change on coffee.”

HRNS presented the use of seedlings in deeper polybags (one year seedlings) in coffee planting, the preparation of organic fertilizers (compost and bokashi) and the use of cover crops between coffee rows. These practices are oriented to increase the organic matter of the soil and its capacity of absorption and retention of humidity. Through these techniques the roots of coffee plants are able to capture water from deeper layers during drought events.

“The adoption of the seedling in deeper polybags is given as a very efficient practice since larger seedlings have a more developed root system, being tolerant to extreme climatic events, such as droughts that affect the coffee tree. In addition, it has a high survival rate in the field, reducing the need for replanting”, commented Fernanda Faria, c&c coordinator in Brazil.

Another practice that caught the attention of the approximately 1,500 visitors – who could count on detailed explanations inside the stand – was the septic tank built from drums and PVC connections. This technique aims to treat domestic sewage in a simple and economical way.

The septic tank is manufactured with tanks being an adaptation of the pit developed by the Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária – Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, in a literal translation – (EMBRAPA). The technique is applied in the use of fresh bovine manure or another ruminant animal, where it occurs to the elimination of microbes and bacteria from human waste (bio digestion). It is resulting in a liquid natural fertilizer, without any unpleasant odor or worms that are harmful to human health. The simple technology replaces open sewage, “black” cesspits, avoiding the infiltration of feces and urine in the soil, which, in addition to contaminating well water, cause various diseases to the inhabitants of the rural area and can even cause death. In addition, this system can be used as an organic bio-fertilizer, contributing to soil quality, and also to rural production.

One of the new technologies promoted by c&c that was presented at FEMAGRI was the production of photovoltaic energy. Photovoltaic energy is used as a mitigation measurement to contribute to the reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases.

Climate change is happening, so it´s one of the upmost goals of the initiative for coffee&climate to identify practices that can support farmers to face and increase the resilience to the production systems, but also incorporate an approach of “mitigation”. This concept involves strategies that reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases and also capture carbon in the system. The photovoltaic energy is related to the use of clean energy and contributes to the reduction of gasses that increase climate change issues. c&c contacted providers of this service to promote the installation of generators on the farms. The idea is to not only used in rural houses, but also for work machineries, like dryers and cleaners with high efficiency. Farmers from cooperatives supported by HRNS and c&c started to utilize this technique and began to install generators. After a first evaluation and based on the outcomes of the first results c&c will scale the practice.

Bruno Fernandes, Environmental Engineer and Sanitary of Amvolt Sistemas Eléctricas e Solar Energia commented: “Photovoltaic energy is a common electric energy. The principle of the technology is the conversion of sunlight into electrical energy and this by the parameters of the planet leads us to consider being an inexhaustible and clean source of energy. So we just turn that light into energy to fuel the activities.” He also highlighted advantages such as reduction of pollution in the production of plates, greater potential for recycling compared to other sources of energy, noise elimination, and non-emission of air pollutants. “When we talk about the use of solar energy, the modules occupy reduced space to produce energy, having a reduced rate of deforestation.”

The high interest of the members of the cooperative COOXUPE ratified the importance of demonstrating adaptation practices as a contribution to the fair’s goal: “responsible production for a successful agriculture”.

We thank COOXUPE for the invitation and the support in the exhibitions and we look forward to participating in another edition in 2019. See you there!

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Community of Practice

cacblog — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 15:25:31 +0000

Alfenas, Brazil – July 12th, 2017 – coffee&climate takes part in the Community of Practice (CoP), a group of various institutions from the coffee sector that are involved in different areas within the coffee value chain. The CoP recently had its very first meeting at Unifenas (José Rosário Vellano University) in Alfenas, Brazil. The aim of the CoP is to share knowledge and experiences of successful climate smart agriculture techniques that reduce climate impacts on coffee production. By bringing in a diverse group of actors from the coffee sector, the participants openly discussed relevant climate threats and possible opportunities, in the form of practices, to overcome these challenges.

The next meeting will take place in November of 2017; since it was commonly agreed on to carry out the suggested practices within the next four months. Further next steps will be the evaluation and analyzation of the results of the rolled out practices. In addition, the group set up “Good agricultural practices to adapt to climate change” as a theme until the end of the year. Next to the introduction of new technologies, the group will approach already known practices.

c&c thanks the participating institutions for their commitment and exertion: ACOB, ATLÂNTICA, COOMAP, COOPASV, COSTAS 5588, COOXUPÉ,EPAMIG, Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung, IFET – MACHADO, INSTITUTO TERRA, Neumann Kaffee Group, P&A, Stockler, UNIFENAS and UTZ.

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Brazil Archives - initiative for coffee&climate

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