Colombia’s world famous coffee zone, or zona cafetera, is under pressure. Climate change has triggered an exodus of growers unable to fight rising temperatures, erratic rains and increasing pest and disease pressure. Many are small farmers without the money or technology to adapt.
This set of pictures, from the towns of Balboa and Apía in the heart of the coffee zone, documents the growers making the difficult decision to switch production, and those who are staying to tough it out.
A feature on the threat to coffee production in the region, CIAT’s coffee models, and the organization’s recommendations for protecting small coffee farmers will appear in the forthcoming edition of the online development magazine New Agriculturist. Check here for the direct link to the article when the edition goes live next week.
