Climate change has affected the environment glaciers have shrunk, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, plant and animal ranges have shifted and trees are flowering sooner.
Because of the climate change, the coffee industry will soon be sinking its production where there will be fewer crops to harvest.
It’s no surprise that coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world after oil. Brazil is the largest producer of coffee beans, followed by Vietnam and Colombia. Coffee beans are grown in more than 60 countries and allow 25 million families worldwide to make a living.
So what will happen to coffee farmers if there will be fewer crops to harvest?
We are now experiencing some of the negative effects of the climate change. Production in the coffee industry has been shifting slowly over the past few years. Coffee farmers are still enjoying the abundant rainfall, Mother Nature has so far spared coffee growers, but their luck may be running out.
Over the past few years of study and observation, experts say that climate change will severely affect coffee crops over the next 80 years. By 2100, more than 50 percent of the land used to grow coffee will no longer bearable.
According to the National Academy of Science, in Latin America alone, more than 90 percent of the land used for coffee production could suffer this fate. It’s estimated that Ethiopia, the sixth largest producer in the world, could lose over 60 percent of its production by 2050. That’s only a generation from now.
As climate change continues, the livelihoods of millions of farmers are at risk and production capacity is jeopardized. With climate change, pest management and disease control are serious issues for farmers it takes a lot of money to sustain them and protect the crops.
As climate conditions become critical it will affect the quality of the coffee. Quality coffee beans are grown in regions where the climate allows the beans to ripen at just the right time.
Climate change is undoubted will affect the quality and coffee prices. Sooner or later good coffee beans may become more difficult to produce in the future.
The coffee wars we are seeing are not just about gaining market shares and getting consumers hooked on java. They are also about how we connect with a crop that is under siege by climate change.
SOURCE: The Conversation
