Stories from a South Indian Coffee Plantation
Growing up on a coffee plantation in South India, I have been exposed to the coffee-growing community my whole life. Now, as a third-generation coffee farmer, my aim is to create a coffee plantation that uses generational knowledge of coffee production and adopt new techniques to create coffee that is unique and eco-friendly. Below, I will try and detail out the learnings that I have gained first-hand and also share my understanding of what the future holds for the growers of the most consumed product around the world — coffee.
Coffee was introduced to India about 400 years ago and may have been planted first under the shade of forest trees on the Chandragiri Hills in Chikmagalur district, Karnataka. A typical South Indian coffee estate is a micro eco-system by itself and is grown very differently than in high-producing coffee nations like Colombia and Brazil. The big difference is ‘shade’ and in South India, shade is aplenty with a large number of indigenous trees and shrubs. Plenty of coffee farmers here choose to grow coffee under shade due to the numerous benefits that come from it and also the staggeringly high costs of shade-lopping (essentially chopping the canopy of a tree). Studies suggest that shaded coffee is more natural and eco-friendly and significantly reduces the number of pests, especially the infamous coffee berry borer. However, on the ground, the yield per acre for coffee grown under shade is significantly lower compared to its counterpart.
There are three primary varieties of coffee plants that we deal with in South India. Arabica coffee (Coffee Arabica) plants are typically small in size and are very delicate and require a fair amount of pruning and constant attention. Arabica coffee is the most common coffee plant and usually has a sweeter, more delicate flavour and is usually less acidic. The second variety is Robusta coffee (Coffee Canephora) which I am most familiar with due to a large number of robusta plants in my family's estate. This coffee is most common in Europe, Middle East, and Africa and is known for its strong and often harsh flavour profile. The robusta plants are far more robust than compared arabica plants and are less susceptible to diseases. Although the taste is not as popular as the arabica coffee, I believe that shade-grown robusta coffee is just in the beginning of its journey and the multitude of flavour profiles being created will lead to it being as popular as Arabica coffee in the future. Lastly, we have Liberica, often known as tree coffee due to the plant growing akin to a tree. They grow in specific climates and production of this type of coffee is not high. The beans however are considered a rare treat, with many who’ve tried the coffee liken the aroma to fruit and flowers and having a woody/earthy taste. More details on the types of varieties can be found here.
What does the future hold?
From a coffee grower's perspective, the future of coffee is filled with potential and pitfalls and from first glance, there are plenty more pitfalls than potential. For instance, in India, coffee prices have been stagnant for a number of years, and post COVID, coffee prices are set to fall more. The drastic change in weather patterns is also significantly harming coffee production. Shortage of labour has become a big issue as predicted with estates having as little as 3 labourers for over 100 acres of coffee estate.
I do want to point out, however, that there have been some innovative and crafty methods that have been implemented in our ecosystem to continue sustainable & profitable coffee. Movement into making quality over quantity has significantly increased revenues for coffee farmers. Inter-cropping has diversified revenues and the increasing use of technology has increased yield and better supply chain management. I will highlight all of the solutions further below.
Movement from Quantity to Quality
With our labour shortage, we are unable to adequately produce high yields of coffee consistently over the years. In order to compensate for lower yields, we turned to increase the quality of our coffee beans in smaller areas of our estate. This allows for the smaller quantities of good grade coffee at a higher price and increases our revenues. Operating in smaller acreage allows for a more careful process of coffee growing and allowing for specific interventions to take place. For instance, we are able to prune coffee plants better, provide them adequate sunlight, increase water access when required, and even tailor fertilizers to individual plants.
The aim is to create micro-lots (small blocks) of coffee that have a variety of flavour profiles. This will help with the process of marketing it a certain way as well, which we believe will increase the value of the coffee. The overall plan is to have micro-lots produce coffee that is unique and marketable and achieve a price that matches the production of the remaining coffee-producing estate.
Inter-Cropping
Another key method that we plan to use to diversify our revenues is by inter-cropping. We chose crops that complement coffee plantations and some of our successful interventions are pomelos, oranges, bananas, and avocados. One of the most productive crops that compliments coffee estates is pepper and it grows well with the indigenous trees that are present (not all trees work well, however). These trees provide vital ecological diversity and have very low maintenance and provide vital mulch that replenishes the soil and adds to the well-being of the coffee plantation.
Cash crops like paddy are also grown in low-lying areas but these require more financial and capital investments. We primarily grow to consume-in-house and not to make a profit. Small-holding farmers can benefit from inter-cropping much more than large land holding farmers and scientific interventions like maintaining soil quality, water quality & supply can drastically improve revenues made from a coffee plantation.
Agri-Tech
Agri-technology has grown leaps and bounds over the last decade. We have seen newer machinery, better weather management systems, and significant improvements in machinery for hulling, pulping, and roasting. However, on the ground, all these machines are still labour-intensive and are often out of reach to smallholding coffee farmers.
The most exciting improvement in the technology front comes with blockchains. Blockchain technology is redefining the coffee supply chain to increase transparency, efficiency, and win-win economic transactions that can help rectify the financial benefits of coffee production. Blockchain in the coffee supply chain is helping growers see where their beans end up and enables consumers to see where their coffee comes from. This technology can help ensure that growers are given fair payments for their crops and are maintaining sustainability practices. And it can allow consumers to make more informed decisions about where they should purchase their coffee.
The coffee board of India has already taken steps towards this, but this transition is still a couple of years away. The question is not any more an ‘if’, but instead of a ‘when’ blockchain technology will have an influence on coffee farmers.
Conclusion
India has seen a rise in coffee drinkers and the eco-system is full of new generation planters, coffee-roasters, and conscious consumers. Solutions are abundant with changing climates & markets and there is good enough reason to believe that Indian coffee will have its say in the global market very soon. Newer policy changes are required however and planters will be required to be more agile and adept with the variety of changing components in the ecosystem. However, newer methods and research into coffee production are trickling down and coupled with local knowledge, we should see a highly diverse coffee market within India in the next 10 to 15 years.
P.S — This was a very brief attempt to put down by recent learnings on paper. I will continue to edit this post based on newer and relevant findings. Until then, I will be sharing information on the coffee environment and things I find interesting on my Twitter — @aiyannabelly.
