Shade versus intensification: Trade-off or synergy for profitability in coffee agroforestry systems?
Date
11-12-2023Sustainable development goals
ODS 12 - Producción y consumo responsables
Type
Artículo
Metadata
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This study assesses the economic viability of different coffee production strategies in Costa Rica and Guatemala, comparing intensive systems with shaded agroforestry approaches. Using a typology based on levels of intensification and sustainability, the authors applied a stochastic cash flow model based on ten years of farm-level survey data, including information on costs, prices, and yields.
Results indicate that high-productivity systems—with significant investment and moderate shade levels—achieve the highest Net Present Value (NPV) under future coffee price scenarios. Among low-investment systems, those with high shade cover yield a higher (and positive) NPV than low-shade systems, which on average produce negative returns despite similar investment levels. Diversification, particularly with high-value export avocados, marginally improves NPV, while other forms of diversification have limited economic impact.
Although high-productivity systems incur greater production costs, they generally offer higher probabilities of achieving positive net income and living wages, except in cases of severe price drops (e.g., a 50% decline in coffee prices). Conversely, a 50% increase in coffee prices would be necessary for all farmers to achieve positive net cash income and, in the case of intensive systems, approach a living wage threshold.
The study concludes that high-investment, high-productivity coffee systems are compatible with shaded agroforestry and are more likely to ensure economic success under most market conditions. For farmers with limited capacity to invest, high-shade systems offer more stable and positive returns across a wider range of price scenarios than low-shade alternatives.
Keywords
Delegation
Sede Central
Publisher
Elsevier
Is part of
Agricultural Systems
Status
openAccess
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2023.103814