Café canéfora has updated climate risk zoning

The updated version of the Agricultural Climate Risk Zoning (Zarc) for canephora coffee was published in Ordinances No. 6 and No. 7 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa). The zoning data prepared by Embrapa experts for cultivation and production can now be consulted on the ministry's website. Zarc delimits regions and growing seasons into climate risk classes.

In the case of coffee, as in the case of other perennial crops, Zarc is subdivided into two studies. The first identifies the municipalities with the lowest risk for the annual production cycle considering the established coffee plantation in production. Once the regions with suitable conditions for production have been defined, the second study defines the times of lowest risk for implementing coffee plantations, that is, considering the planting of seedlings.

The productive sector and rural credit and insurance institutions that work with canephora coffee now have climate risk assessment considering the soil classification system in 6ADs - which are soil classes that determine the available water capacity for the plant -, in addition to being differentiated into two production systems (rainfed and irrigated), among other specification possibilities during the consultation.

The novelty results from the improvement of the zoning methodology and the incorporation of new cultural knowledge in the last ten years, since the last edition of Zarc for canephora, in 2010. According to IBGE data, 11 municipalities in ten states maintain conilon production and Robusta, botanical varieties of the canephora species. Espírito Santo, Rondônia and Bahia are the main producing states.

The clonal varieties of the canephora species, developed by Embrapa Rondônia, have experiments in Acre and Roraima, signaling an expansion of the cultivation area and international markets, including. In 2021, the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) granted the designation of origin to Robustas Amazônicos. A recognition of the unique characteristics of the coffee produced in the region and appreciation of the potential for sustainable production and differentiated quality. To learn more, click here.

Production - data from the Coffee Observatory indicate that the gross revenue of cafes in 2023 was almost 50 billion. Robusta and conilon coffees accounted for the equivalent of 24% of this total, or R$11,75 billion. Currently, canephora accounts for 30% of coffee production in the country, which in the 2022/2023 harvest occupied almost 400 thousand hectares, resulting in around 16,2 million bags of processed coffee, according to Conab.

In 2023, the total gross revenue of Cafés do Brasil reached R$49,37 billion, with R$37,62 billion coming from Arabica coffee (Coffea arábica), which corresponds to 76% of the total collected, and R$ 11,75 billion with Robusta and Conilon coffees (Coffea canéfora), which is equivalent to 24% of total revenue, as recorded by the Embrapa Coffee Observatory.

With more caffeine, soluble solids and acid than Arabic coffee - which dominates the national and international markets in which Brazil is the leader - canephora is specifically intended for the production of soluble coffee and blends.

Greater resistance to some diseases and less dependence on inputs, as well as the possibility of sustainable production with social inclusion, have motivated Embrapa to maintain breeding programs aimed at canephora varieties. The species is cultivated by family farmers and, basically, in the manual production system, explains the technical person responsible for the culture in the zoning program, researcher at Embrapa Agricultura Digital, Gustavo Costa Rodrigues.

Production sector participates in zoning validation

As a way of making the zoning more robust, the team responsible for updating the Zarc for canéfora coffee held two validation meetings with the production sector. One of the meetings brought together producers from the North and Northeast and another with networks and cooperatives from the South, Southeast and Center-West regions. Dialogue makes it possible to incorporate contributions into the study before publication.

During the meetings, experts explained what zoning is, detailing the methodologies and climatic parameters used. Water deficit, in the rainfed production system, as well as very low (frost) or very high temperatures are the main climatic risks of the crop and guide the main criteria adopted in this zoning. The technical person responsible for the culture explains that zoning is a probability study carried out using a methodology that analyzes variables such as temperature, soil type and water availability.

The data is crossed with the frequency of climate risk extracted from 3.500 meteorological stations spread across Brazil, with a 30-year history. After the parameterization and simulation work, carried out using a methodology developed by a team from Embrapa Digital Agriculture, the material went through a pre-validation stage with 15 researchers from Embrapa units who work in the areas of phytotechnics and genetic improvement of canephora coffee.

“We count on the contribution of experts from Embrapa Café, Cerrados, Acre, Rondônia, Fisheries and Aquaculture. And the idea is to identify gaps that may have been missed in the previous phase and, thus, adjust the simulation based on information from those who are experiencing the culture. In this way, we deliver a reliable final product for the purposes of planning and monitoring cultural risks”, explains Rodrigues.

The intensity and duration of the water deficit is the main limitation to cultivation in the non-irrigated production system. Very low temperatures, including frost, or very high temperatures, especially during flowering, can affect the irrigated and rainfed systems. These are the main climatic risks of the crop that guided the probability study prepared by Embrapa specialists and used in production planning and risk reduction, required to obtain rural insurance.

Free app makes it easy to consult Zarc

Zarc Plantio Certo is an application developed by Embrapa Agricultura Digital and available free of charge for Android (Google) and iOS (Apple) operating systems, which helps producers and agents in the agribusiness chain, by making official Agricultural Zoning information available. of Climate Risk (Zarc), in an easy-to-understand interface.

Consulting Zarc Plantio Certo allows the user to receive an indication of the different risk rates (20%, 30% and 40%) of losses due to adverse weather events, linked to their respective planting seasons, covering canephora coffee among the 43 cultures and all municipalities in the national territory.