A partnership between the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Mapa), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the National Coffee Council (CNC) is developing and structuring the Water Producer Coffee program. The initiative aims to intensify the use of practices on coffee-growing properties in Brazil, which contribute to promoting sustainable production and the environmental revitalization of the river basins in which the coffee-producing regions are located.
In this sense, the program provides for the creation of a specific fund to house resources destined for Payment for Environmental Services (PSA) from rural properties dedicated to coffee production. The basic premise is to compensate rural producers for actions that conserve or recover the environment and natural resources located on their properties, generating services that benefit society.
The proposal for structuring the program will be prepared by a technical consultant hired through a Technical Cooperation Project between Mapa and IICA. The project will be conducted in cooperation with the CNC, an entity that represents cooperatives that operate with coffee in Brazil, and will have the support of the National Water and Basic Sanitation Agency (ANA) and the Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company of the State of Minas Gerais (Emater/MG).
“The expectation is that the consultancy will result in the formation of a financial fund covered by various entities, such as banks, cooperatives, water distribution companies and others, aiming to remunerate producers who are interested in preserving the springs and streams they own, in addition to of riparian forests, in order to guarantee water reserves for the future, ensuring that the needs of the sector for irrigation and of the cities for the supply of water to the population are met”, highlights the director of the Department of Commercialization and Supply of Mapa, Silvio Farnese.
In the analysis of the president of the CNC, Silas Brasileiro, the positive effects of initiatives like this go beyond the concierge. “We are clear that the benefits arising from the use of good practices go beyond the borders of rural properties, generating gains for society. It is fair that the costs of producing these benefits are also shared with their users, in proportion to the share of benefits that each one appropriates”.
A pilot project will be carried out with the Regional Coffee Growers Cooperative in Guaxupé (Cooxupé), located in the south of Minas Gerais, which has more than 16 thousand members, 95% of which are family farmers. At this stage, the technical consultant will coordinate partners and develop an action plan to apply to the crops of producers associated with Cooxupé.
The objective is to create a favorable environment for the establishment of partnerships between entities operating in the coffee growing segment, in order to enable the implementation of conservationist practices and management and improvement of vegetation cover that contribute to the effective reduction of erosion and sedimentation, resulting in increased water infiltration into the soil and enabling its storage underground. As the underground flow is slower than the surface flow, this means that this water reaches the watercourses after the rainy season, generating availability to meet demands in the dry season.
The president of Cooxupé, Carlos Augusto Rodrigues de Melo, highlights that it is essential for the cooperative to participate in initiatives that work to mitigate the effects of the water crisis and climate events. “Our search for sustainable solutions is constant so that Cooxupé remains increasingly healthy and competitive in the face of challenges. For some years now, the climate has had a major influence on coffee production and drought has a major impact on production results. Therefore, it is necessary to seek actions and reflect on current moments”, he says.
Among the benefits expected by the initiative are the recovery and conservation of recharge areas and springs; improving the quality and increasing the supply of water in river basins; biodiversity conservation; between others.
In addition to the enormous potential to contribute to the environment, through the adequate occupation of rural spaces associated with the use of good practices, coffee farming has great economic and social importance for Brazil.
Brazil occupies the first position in the ranking of coffee producing and exporting countries, in addition to being the second largest consumer of this drink in the world. Brazilian coffee farming is responsible for supplying one in every three cups of coffee consumed in the world.
The coffee production chain is made up of 308 thousand producers - 78% from family farming. The sector annually generates US$5 billion to US$7 billion in foreign sales, 8,4 million jobs and R$25 billion in rural income, in 1.983 Brazilian municipalities.
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