Shade Coffee Agro-Ecosystems in Mexico

SUMMARY

Coffee-growing ecosystems have significant environmental benefits and social importance. A review of the literature on ecosystem services, especially for biodiversity, is presented on Mexican coffee cultivation. This study describes the characteristics of the five main coffee cultivation systems in Mexico. Coffee farms can be classified on a continuum according to the extent of shade that is incorporated in cultivation systems and how well they represent traditional coffee farms: traditional ‘rustic’ or ‘mountain’ coffee gardens, traditional poly-cultures, commercial poly-cultures, shaded monoculture coffee systems and unshaded monoculture crops. After assessing the importance of the presence or absence of trees for each system, this paper examines the ecosystem services' potential of the different systems and the implications of these services for local and global populations. Finally, the potential use of certification for shade coffee is assessed. Over the last few years, it has become clear that a rigorous shade-certification system is important, but that its promotion must keep abreast of the ecological diversity and farmers' realities.

Key Words:

• Biodiversity
• certification
• industrial agriculture
• international markets
• traditional knowledge