The Role of Nurseries in Coffee Agroforestry

Farm agroforestry and coffee tree renovation programs rely upon nurseries to grow reliable seedlings for farmers, but in many countries, a lack of infrastructure and access to knowledge for nursery operators means that the very foundation of strong farms rests upon shaky ground. When nurseries are unable to produce consistent, genetically-conforming, and quality seedlings, farmers’ bottom line – as well as their confidence in new methods – can be impacted. That’s why World Coffee Research (WCR) is focused on ensuring genetically-conforming and quality seedling practices across the world and why Sucafina is proud to partner with them in this work.    

Nurseries Are a Cornerstone 

We recently published an article about agroforestry projects in our supply chain. In that article, Leon Sanchez, Global Agronomy Manager at Sucafina, spoke about Sucafina’s work supporting coffee farmers as they adopt agroforestry techniques. He adds that, “it’s hard to find good quality seedlings in some countries because there aren’t as many professional nurseries...Sometimes, we have to install our own nurseries, and that adds time and cost to each project. When good nurseries already exist, it allows us to focus on training and adoption.”  

Nurseries for both coffee and shade trees are vital, especially in coffee, because many trees, and more specifically on smallholder farms, are past their production prime and can be 20 to 50 years old. Older trees have smaller yields and can also be more susceptible to disease. That’s why WCR has been focusing on nursery and seed sector transformation. “It all starts with a seed, and if you don’t have the right seed, you’re not going to have the right coffee [or tree] at the end of the day,” explains Emilia Umaña, Senior Manager of WCR’s Nursery Program.  In their survey of 5 Latin American countries, WCR found that one-third (36%) of seed nurseries had plants with <50% genetic conformity. This means that a buyer had just a 50/50 chance of getting a high-performing seedling that matches what they intended to buy. 

It’s important to note that nurseries aren’t usually intentionally selling the wrong seedlings. Most of the time, the issue is that nurseries are not able to obtain the seeds from reliable sources or are not following best practices to prevent cross-pollination. This means that the resulting seedlings may not be 100% true-to-type trees., 

As a result of this, farmers could find themselves with trees that aren’t as disease resistant as expected, are not best suited for their farm conditions or are unable to perform at the quality level they expected. This can have far-reaching effects that continue year after year for the plant’s lifetime, severely limiting the potential success of a farm.       

Additionally, seedlings from nurseries that aren’t following Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) may be more likely to die in the first few years of cultivation, which can mean farmers must spend more time and money to plant new trees and start yielding results.  

Evaluating Current Nurseries  

WCR is working on evaluating current seed value chains to determine the average level of genetic compliance (where the seedlings they are selling are genetic matches for the variety they’re aiming to sell). They recently published a comprehensive report on the seed sector in 5 key Latin American countries. The report helps illustrate the issues and gaps that still exist in these countries. The data comes from genetic testing of plants on the ground and seed sources, and from informational interviews with producers and nursery managers.  

One of the most significant issues observed through this research is the availability and access to seedlings resistant to Coffee Leaf Rust. “Farmers invest in buying a bulk of these seeds or seedlings that are sold as resistant and then when they plant them on their farm, they find after several years that they don’t have the attributes that they bought them for because the attribute is lost in some kind of mix up or cross pollinat-on that occurred at the seed production and/or nursery level. It really sets back the success of farmers in the long run and can completely sacrifice their yields,” Emilia says.   

Building a Stronger Network of Reliable Nurseries 

WCR recognizes the challenges that nurseries face in supplying consistent, genetically-verifiable seedlings across the world. WCR set about creating resources that include training videos, in-person trainings, materials on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and more. They recently finished a large training in Uganda where they trained 100 Arabica nursery operators. Last year, they provided training for 400 Robusta nursery operators in Uganda, as well. As part of this project, UGACOF (Sucafina in Uganda) is helping establish certified nurseries for KR line seedlings. The goal is to distribute 100,000 healthy KR seedlings to farmers in Uganda, and 80,000 have been distributed thus far.       

WCR’s activities and research in other regions are yielding results, as well. “Through our research into 5 countries in Latin America we’ve also produced these lists to establish commercial nurseries that produce DNA-verifiable varieties and genetically confirmed seed lots,” Emilia says. That way, farmers looking for reliable seedlings can consult these resources to find a verified nursery near them.  

Sucafina is a proud member of WCR, and we’re glad to be a part of their work to champion better-performing seedlings for farmers. If you’re interested in joining Sucafina to forge a better future for coffee, please consider joining WCR as a member company. Roasters can add cents per pound /kilogram to green coffee contracts through WCR’s Checkoff Program. Ask your trader for more information on adding the WCR Checkoff Program to your orders. You can find more information about membership benefits here.