El Platanillo in Guatemala has become the first farm to be verified in accordance with the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) new climate module. The climate module is a set of guidelines complementing the existing SAN-standard. It helps farmers to reduce their farm’s vulnerability to the effects of climate change, it minimises Greenhouse gas emissions while increasing carbon sequestration.
“This is a groundbreaking step and a innovative tool that has the potential to help coffee farmers all over the world to adapt to the effects of climate change”, says Tensie Whelan president of the Rainforest Alliance.
The module was developed by the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) in corporation with the Guatemalan Coffee Association (ANACAFE), the Inter-American Foundation for Tropical Research (FIIT) and Belgian-Swiss coffee and cocoa trading house EFICO.
Coffee farmers are facing severe challenges due to climate change. Prolonged droughts, unpredictable rainfall patterns and tropical storms all pose grave threats to crops and the farmers’ livelihood. In several coffee growing regions crop yields are diminishing due to these altered weather patterns. At the same time the world demand for coffee is steadily increasing adding further pressure to existing ecosystems. Read more
