Water Wheel Sept/Oct 2022: Agriculture And Climate Change

Abstract

Coffee aficionados everywhere have likely been alarmed by news headlines over the past decade about the effect of climate change on coffee production. Will they still be able to get their regular ‘fix’ in future, and at what price? The headlines refer to findings from research done primarily on Coffea arabica, which yields 60 – 70% of global coffee bean production. The species is grown in tropical highlands, and modelling studies have shown that areas suitable for its cultivation will decrease significantly by 2050 and shift to higher elevations. Fortunately, though, these areas are distributed over three continents. Brazil is currently the dominant producer, but Arabica coffee is grown in other South and Central American countries too, as well as in Asia and Africa – there is even very limited cultivation in South Africa. By contrast, our country’s world-renown tea, the caffeine-free rooibos, is produced only in a relatively small part of the fynbos biome in the Northern and Western Cape.

Categories