Research supports the first Geographical Indication of camphor coffee in the world

Rondônia advances in the recognition process to have the first Geographical Indication – GI of coffee of the species Coffea canephora (conilon and robusta) in the world and, with the approval of the Global Coffee Platform – GCP, it can also have global prominence by becoming the first GI of sustainable coffees. 

The proposal for a Geographical Indication of the Matas de Rondônia Region for Amazonian Robustas can consolidate the recognition of the sensorial quality of canephor coffees in Brazil and in the world. “It's a great paradigm shift in the market, proving that Rondônia, in addition to productivity, also has enormous quality potential in its coffees”, highlights the consultant responsible for the IG process in Rondônia, Aguinaldo Lima.

According to researchers from Embrapa Rondônia, Amazon Robustas are the result of more than four decades of interaction between genetics, environment and management. They have physical, chemical and sensory characteristics that can be considered distinct and unique. “They carry their uniqueness in their name, as they are produced in Amazonian terroir, which has characteristics that are not found in other regions of the country and the world”, says Embrapa Rondônia researcher, Enrique Alves. 

He explains that coffee growers in Rondônia, and especially in the region of IG Matas de Rondônia, have learned to value the fruit of their work. They perform careful harvests and slow drying. There are also those who have invested in wet processing techniques and various fermentation processes. These are important steps that have made a big difference in quality. 

Furthermore, they have already adopted the name ‘Robustas Amazônicos’ for their coffees and sustainable practices in their crops. “The Geographical Indication recognizes what Rondônia producers have already done in the field and which the research technically substantiates. The set of characteristics of these coffees, their Amazonian origin and the search for production based on quality and sustainability, has everything to transform these coffees into the main components of fine drinks, pure or in the form of fine blends”, says Alves . 

The researcher characterizes Amazon Robustas as drinks with a pleasant flavor and aroma, with soft sweetness and acidity, velvety body and a striking aftertaste. “These are coffees that have characteristics reminiscent of nuts, chocolates, dried fruits and their bitterness, when present, resembles cocoa nibis”, he explains. Other differences between Amazonian coffees, according to Alves, are the high average sieve – greater than 16 – and a lower caffeine percentage than standard conilon – ranging from 1,4 to 1,8. 

There are diverse profiles of producers in Rondônia: family, business, indigenous and organic. They live in a rich and variable climate and soil environment. According to Aguinaldo Lima, with quality, volume and mandatory compliance with sustainability requirements, producers will increase the value of their Amazon Robustas. “Adding value will bring even greater motivation to the growth of coffee growing in Rondônia and benefits to the coffee agribusiness in Brazil”, concludes the consultant.

Recognition of the field for the consumer

In the field, the Geographical Indication of Amazonian Robustas can strengthen and enhance what producers have been doing for some years. Awarded for the quality and sustainability of the coffees they produce, they already use the differential and the denomination of Robustas Amazônicos to add more value to their product and, consequently, more income.

Ronaldo and Dione Bento present their family coffee at International Coffee Week 2019, in Belo Horizonte. This is the case of the Bento family, from the municipality of Cacoal, champions in quality and sustainability competitions, they sell their own coffee, including these differences at the time of sale. “Quality, sustainability and the name Robusta Amazônico add a lot. Instead of selling a 60-kilo bag of coffee for 260 reais in stores, we roast and package our quality Amazonian Robusta and make around 800 reais in profit per bag. People want to get to know this unique coffee from the Amazon”, says Dione Bento.

Just like this family, others are following the same path and joining forces through the Association of Coffee Growers in the Geographical Indication of Amazonian Robusta region – Caferon, a fundamental milestone in the GI recognition process. The president of the Association, Juan Travain, highlights the importance of this seal of recognition. For him, bringing families together to produce quality and sustainable coffee is fundamental to adding value and organizing producers. “We need to see coffee as a food, to bring a better, tastier product to the tables of Brazilian families and with the Amazonian distinctiveness that we have here,” he stated. 

Caferon is made up of coffee growers from the 15 municipalities that make up the GI, known as Matas de Rondônia: Alta Floresta d'Oeste, Cacoal, São Miguel do Guaporé, Nova Brasilândia d'Oeste, Ministro Andreazza, Alto Alegre dos Parecis, Novo Horizonte do Oeste , Seringueiras, Alvorada d'Oeste, Rolim de Moura, Espigão d'Oeste, Santa Luzia d'Oeste, Primavera de Rondônia, São Felipe d'Oeste and Castanheiras.

Geographical Indication

It serves to distinguish a product or service that presents different characteristics and that can be attributed to its geographic origin, configuring the reflection of the environment. This means that, in addition to natural conditions, human and cultural factors matter. 

The formal recognition of GI in the country and geographic responsibility lies with the National Institute of Intellectual Property – INPI, a federal government agency. Through diagnostics and technical analyzes carried out in Rondônia, by the National Innovation and Productivity Network – RENAPI, a program linked to the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development – ​​ABDI, the company AJLima Consultoria em Agronegócios was hired to carry out technical services for development and application of a methodology for the Geographical Indication of a coffee producing region in Rondônia, through contract 016/2018. 

This company is under the leadership of Aguinaldo José de Lima. He was at the forefront of the creation of the first region demarcated as a coffee producer in Brazil, the Cerrado Mineiro Region, being responsible for the protocol of the first request for recognition of a Geographical Identification in Brazil, in 1. He also worked on the Denomination of Origin (DO ) from the Cerrado Mineiro Region – the only coffee DO in Brazil, in the North Pioneiro IG, in Paraná and in the West IG of Bahia.

One of the immediate results of the GI process is the identification, recognition and dissemination of coffee attributes from the region to society and the industry. Bringing the industry closer to the production chain and its organization brings countless benefits, such as the perception of coffee quality and value. This can generate new products that will be available to consumers. 

According to the president of the Brazilian Association of the Soluble Coffee Industry - ABICS, Pedro Guimarães Fernandes, the Geographical Indication process takes place at a very appropriate time, when consumers want to know where the products they consume come from, in what way is being produced, whether it is sustainable and whether it adds value to the community. “The GI will open up possibilities for commercializing coffee from Rondônia, including soluble coffee. The soluble industry is the largest buyer of the state's coffees and exports to more than 180 countries. This opens up immense possibilities for selling raw, soluble coffee and this adds value and everyone in the chain benefits from it”, concludes Pedro Fernandes.

Specialist in specialty coffees and the market, Josiana Bernardes, who works in the main producing countries, confirms that coffee traceability is a worldwide consumer demand. “A coffee from the Amazon region causes a lot of interest, mainly because it also adds sustainability to quality. The Geographical Indication can value these coffees even more and open up new markets”, points out Bernardes.

Geographical Indication: technical basis

A GI is a process of valuing products that have different quality compared to others and with a strong link with genetic characteristics, production method and the environment where it is produced. Robusta Amazônico is an example of this combination. It is a coffee grown in the Amazon region, which has a different climate, soil and other variables than other regions. This coffee was genetically selected over time under these conditions and, combined with the way the producer works in the field, ends up becoming different. “IG comes to recognize these characteristics and help in the evolution of the entire chain. It is the valorization of the product and the work of coffee growers”, highlights Enrique Alves 

The technical argument for the IG Matas de Rondônia proposal was prepared by the Embrapa Rondônia team. To support the work, data were collected ranging from the product and its intrinsic qualities, edaphoclimatic characterization (climate and soil), methodology, production management and a large survey on the historical notoriety of coffee production in Rondônia, specifically the region of the 15 municipalities that make up the region delimited for the GI. “The heart of the GI process is the technical contribution from Embrapa Rondônia”, points out consultant Aguinaldo Lima. 

The state is among the three largest producers of the Coffea canephora species in the country and is the largest in the North region. According to data from the National Supply Company (Conab), the 2019 harvest was approximately 2,1 million bags in an area of ​​62.729 hectares. In a decade, productivity jumped from ten to 33 bags per hectare, representing growth of 230%. This is thanks to the use of technologies such as irrigation, fertilization and appropriate management, in addition to new clonal varieties, which are more productive and have been replacing crops propagated by seeds.

Economic and social aspects of the GI Matas de Rondônia region

Coffee farming has a great social impact in the state. It is one of the main agricultural activities that generate Tax on the Circulation of Goods and Services – ICMS for Rondônia, being carried out by 17.388 thousand family farmers, according to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). Of these, 10.147 (58,4%) are established in the 15 municipalities within the region covered by the GI Matas de Rondônia, which has one of the most significant coffee parks in the country. When we consider the 54.381 people employed in coffee farming in the state, 29.630 (54,5%) are also in this region. 

These 15 municipalities have about 17% of the state's population and territory. They hold more than 60% of the coffee plantation areas and generate 83% of Rondônia's coffee production. The relationship between this region and the agricultural activity is strong and all the work carried out in this region has an impact on the lives of more than 300 people.

Coffee growing in Rondônia is carried out in family modules, with an average of four hectares planted. The basis of all labor is family and the harvesting process is basically manual. The exception is for a small group of producers, no more than 30, who have equipment for semi-mechanized harvesting. Regarding the practice of irrigation, the average percentage of irrigated crops is higher in all the municipalities located within the region proposed for the GI (59,1%), the state average is 50,9%. 

In addition, the municipalities of the GI Matas de Rondônia have an index of remaining crops, propagated by means of seeds, greater than 50%. “There is no other region in the country that still preserves such genetic diversity in its coffee plantations”, points out researcher Enrique Alves. As a result of this, he explains that there are a hundred clones that are produced and sold throughout the Amazon region. 

Speaking of clones, despite the diversity, commercial crops are mainly linked to five clones produced by the producers themselves, known by the numerals 03, 05, 08, 25 and 66. 

Amazon Robustas in the field 

In addition to producing fine drinks with complex and unique flavors, researchers from Embrapa Rondônia describe Amazon Robustas as vigorous and productive plants. They are cultivated in multistems and have a programmed pruning system that keeps the crops renewed and reduces the effect of biannual production. As Robusta coffees are allogamous plants, they require cross-fertilization and, therefore, coffee growers cultivate interspersed lines of six or more clones. 

Each of these clones has its own characteristic of size, production, fruit size and maturation cycle. They are genetic materials that are responsive to cultural treatments, and, in well-maintained crops, they often exceed 150 bags per hectare. The spatial arrangements of crops vary greatly, the most common are 0,70 m to 1,50 m between plants and 2,50 m to 3,50 m between planting lines. The number of productive stems per hectare varies from 8 to 12 thousand.

Climate and soil of the region

The climate of the IG Matas de Rondônia region is characterized by having a small spatial and temporal variation in the average air temperature throughout the year. The same does not occur in relation to rainfall, which presents considerable variations. The average annual temperature between 23 °C and 26 °C is within the range suitable for the cultivation of Coffea canephora. Average annual precipitation varies between 1.340 mm and 2.340 mm, with an average of 1.906,5 mm. There are two well-defined seasons: the rainy season, from October to April, in which almost 90% of the annual precipitation is concentrated, and the dry season, with little rainfall, between the months of June and August, with monthly rainfall less than 50 millimeters. The months of May and September are transitional months. 

Land suitable for coffee cultivation in the region includes those with deep, well-drained soils, with good water storage capacity and located in a low to medium slope relief landscape, facilitating the adoption of mechanization. The average altitude of the municipalities that make up the region ranges from 180 to 400 meters. In general, they are associated with soils of the order of Latosols, Argisols and Nitosols, with Argisols being predominant.