​Soil conservation in coffee production

April 15th was established as National Soil Conservation Day and this date was chosen precisely because it was the birth of Hugh Hammond Bennet, an important North American scientist, considered the father of soil conservation. Between the 1920s and 1930s, he raised awareness in the United States of the importance of soil protection and the magnitude of the threat of erosion. His publications brought light to the fact that human existence on earth is linked to the formation of the soil and that its misuse represents a great risk to our economic activities. His efforts led the Ministry of Agriculture to create specialized technical assistance to provide information to rural producers about erosion and conservation. For this reason, society must reflect on the way it uses land and thus make its maintenance viable and produce in a more sustainable way.

Sustainability in coffee farming has been strengthened through conservationist production systems that minimize impacts on the environment, respecting the limits of natural resources, such as water and soil, which provide adequate working conditions for rural workers, in accordance with specific legislation. Furthermore, it generates attractive financial returns for rural producers to produce and be able to continue developing the activity. Sustainable production systems are based on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), GAPs can be defined as a set of principles, standards and technical recommendations applied to the production, processing and transport of food, aimed at taking care of human health, protecting the environment and improve the conditions of workers, producers and their families. Among the objectives of BPAs, we can mention: increasing the profitability of rural producers, with greater productivity and quality of production, increasing consumer confidence in the quality and safety of products, minimizing environmental impact with the rational use of phytosanitary products and resources natural resources, adopt procedures that guarantee the health and safety of farmers and carry out actions that promote agriculture and sustainable rural development.

Sustainability is not just important for Cecafé. It is a vital area for the coffee chain around the world. The perspective for the future is that to produce enough coffee to supply the globe we need to employ sustainable practices in the field. We must continue to change our mindset in business and production to ensure the continuity and development of our market.

In this sense, Cecafé works to promote good practices, including soil conservation and management. The Informed Producer Program, created by Cecafé in 2006, aims to bring digital inclusion to rural areas and disseminate sustainability in coffee farming. The course contains 14 classes, lasting 2 hours each, 6 classes on applied IT and 8 classes on Good Agricultural Practices, which use the Coffee Sustainability Curriculum as reference and support material. The curriculum has two of the 18 items that They deal especially with the issue of soil management and conservation. The instructor of each class dedicates an entire class to talk about the topic. In addition to field practices, other related subjects are taught, such as irrigation and integrated coffee plantation protection. The essential actions for soil conservation extend to the care of the property as a whole: preserving native vegetation and using water rationally, among others.

The efforts of research, development and innovation institutions, such as the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), Procafé Foundation, Agronomic Institute (IAC), Capixaba Research Institute (Incaper), Technical Assistance and Rural Extension, Coffee Technological Development Center (Ceticaf), among others, over the years, they have brought new technologies and technical solutions, in addition to investments by companies and entities representing the sector in promoting and implementing improvements.

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The wide use of good practices in Brazilian coffee farming strengthens the path for the sector to develop sustainably and, in this sense, soil management and conservation bring countless benefits for the entire society and for future generations.

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