Participatory AI network for climate-resilient coffee farming
Coffee farming in Costa Rica under pressure by climate change
Coffee is a vital commodity worldwide and essential to Costa Rica's economy. Thousands of small farmers rely on coffee cultivation for their livelihoods. After 200 years of cultivation, the high-quality coffee produced in Costa Rica today is the result of an ideal combination of coffee varieties perfectly adapted to the soil, local microclimate, and specific management and processing practices.
Unfortunately, the coffee production in Costa Rica is severely threatened by the impacts of climate change. Extreme weather conditions such as unexpected floods, landslides and wildfires pose significant risks to coffee cultivation, leading to income security. Additionally, the pressure from coffee leaf rust is increasing, even among previously resistant varieties, further worsening the situation. The reduced rainfall and rising temperatures often force farmers to cease their activities in the current plantations. However, relocating coffee production to higher elevations would result in deforestation.
Although the coffee sector is relatively well-organized and various official initiatives and policies exist, limited access to knowledge and poor communication often result in management practices that are not environmentally friendly and sustainable. It is crucial to support coffee farmers with the appropriate knowledge and resources, enabling them to adapt to climate change and adopt sustainable farming practices. This support is essential for preserving coffee production in Costa Rica.
Innovation in the coffee production chain with the CRCAFE App
This project builds on the success of the CRCAFE app, developed by ICAFE in Costa Rica during the COVID pandemic, to support all actors in the coffee production chain (producers, collectors, roasters, exporters) in register and sharing crucial production data.
The resilience of coffee production systems will be strengthened through improved coffee varieties and advanced data collection and evaluation. Utilizing artificial intelligence, an efficient communication system will be created to provide coffee producers with real-time climate forecasting models tailored to their specific coffee varieties and practices. By updating and expanding the CRCAFE app and website, data collection and analysis will be streamlined, leading to better recommendations for coffee farmers and increased economic and social stability.
Collaboration will take place with farmers, information experts, and other value chain actors to design and implement the new CRCAFE applications. The functionalities will be demonstrated on demo farms in seven regions with different microclimates. The implementation of AI-LLM systems (Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models) will enable the capture of expert knowledge in a self-learning system, allowing recommendations to evolve with future developments.
Through the renewed CRCAFE app, coffee farmers will receive personalized advice on management practices and coffee varieties, tailored to local and future climate forecasts. This will promote the adoption of sustainable farming methods, such as organic cultivation and crop diversification.
By promoting environmentally friendly and sustainable management practices, such as reforestation for shade-grown coffee and effective water management, the project will help meet sustainability certifications and support the coffee sector in adapting their production chains to (inter)national climate action policies.
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