Coffee Board to collaborate with ISRO to develop Climate-Resistant Varieties : Daily Current Affairs

Relevance: GS-3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution, and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

Key Phrases: Coffee Board of India, Memorandum of Understanding, ISRO, climate-resistant coffee varieties, Good agricultural practices, carbon sequestration, carbon sink.

Why in News?

  • Coffee Board is planning to focus on developing new varieties that will be resistant to the changing climatic patterns.
  • A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Coffee Board and ISRO is going to be signed about breeding climate-resilient varieties and assessing the carbon sequestration potential in coffee among others.

Coffee Board of India

  • Coffee Board of India is a statutory organization constituted under the Coffee Act, 1942.
  • It is headquartered in Bangalore.
  • The organization is managed by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to promote coffee production in India.

What are the critical climate challenges facing coffee?

  • Loss of suitable area for coffee production and shifts to higher altitudes
  • Increased water stress
  • Poor flowering and cherry development due to rising temperatures
  • Storms with heavy wind and rain can also cause damage to trees and equipment.
  • Increased outbreaks of pests and diseases
  • Increased vulnerability of smallholders as they are least resilient, often depending almost entirely on coffee as a livelihood.

Need for climate-resistant coffee varieties:

  • Coffee growers in the country have been facing the brunt of changing climatic patterns in recent years.
  • The number of extreme weather events such as excess rains within a short period or deficit rainfall impacting the growers are on the rise.
  • Rising temperatures will reduce the area suitable for growing coffee by up to 50% by 2050.
  • With the climate change here to stay, there is a need for research to develop climate-resistant coffee varieties, which perform the same whether it is drought or floods.

How can ISRO help?

  • There is no scientific data to show how much carbon is sequestered.
  • ISRO has the technology to figure out how much carbon is released and how much is absorbed by the plants.
  • ISRO will install the technology in one of the technology evaluation centres at farms and monitor the data for the next two years.
  • Such data on carbon sequestration will help growers command a premium in markets like Europe.

Coffee production in India:

Major Areas:

  • Coffee in India is grown under a canopy of thick natural shade in ecologically sensitive regions of the Western and Eastern Ghats spread over Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
  • Karnataka is the largest producer accounting for about 70% of the total coffee production.
  • Coffee cultivation is also expanding rapidly in the non-traditional areas of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha as well as in the North-East states.

Conditions of Growth:

  • Climate: hot and humid climate
  • Temperatures: varying between 15°C and 28 °C
  • Rainfall: 150 to 250 cm.
  • It is generally grown under shady trees.
  • It does not tolerate frost, snowfall, high temperatures above 30°C, and strong sunshine.
  • Prolonged drought is also injurious to coffee.
  • Dry weather is necessary at the time of ripening of the berries.
  • Stagnant water is harmful and the crop is grown on hill slopes at elevations from 600 to 1,600 meters above sea level.
  • Well-drained, loams containing a good deal of humus and minerals like iron and calcium are ideal for coffee cultivation.
  • Coffee can be cultivated in a variety of soils, although fertile volcanic red earth or deep sandy loam is favourable.

Coffee varieties:

  • The two main varieties of coffee viz., Arabica (49% of the area) and Robusta (51% of the area) are grown in India.
  • Arabica is a mild coffee, but the beans being more aromatic, it has a higher market value compared to Robusta beans.
  • Robusta has more strength and is, therefore, used in making various blends.
  • Arabica is grown in higher altitudes than Robusta.
  • The cool and equable temperature, ranging between 15°C to 25°C, is suitable for Arabica while for Robusta, a hot and humid climate with a temperature ranging from 20°C to 30°C is suitable.
  • The harvest of Arabica takes place between November to January, while for Robusta it is December to February.

What strategies can be used to increase climate resilience?

  • Further research on the impacts of climate change on coffee:
    • Conduct climate risk and vulnerability assessments for key supply regions.
    • Invest in updating assessments with high-resolution climate forecasts.
    • Identify adaptation options for farmers based on level of severity and vulnerability.
  • Good agricultural practices for soil, water, and pest control can help maintain productivity in the face of suitability loss.
  • Designing and implementing financial mechanisms to facilitate investment such as targeted subsidies, grant financing, supply chain finance, etc.
  • Investing in adaptation, breeding, and development of more resistant coffee varieties
  • Strengthening national development and environmental policies
  • Strengthening farmer organizations

Conclusion:

  • The climate is changing, and for the coffee industry to survive, immediate action is required.
  • In this direction the collaboration of the Coffee Board with ISRO for the development of climate-resistant varieties of coffee is a welcome step.
  • The government now needs to mobilize and promote the adoption of climate adaptation practices to be integrated into day-to-day training activities with farmers - at farm level, beyond farm level, and along the entire value chain.

Source: The Hindu BL

Mains Question:

Q. What are the impacts of climate change on coffee production in India? Suggest some strategies to increase climate resilience for the coffee crop.