Abstract
Interest in shade-grown coffee is now increasing because of declining coffee prices in the world market and an increasing trend toward “green consumerism.” It is therefore important to understand farmers' perception of the role of shade trees in coffee fields, an area that has not received deserving attention in research agendas. On the basis of detailed interviews involving both “open-ended” and “closed” questions with 83 small-scale coffee farmers in the Peninsula of Nicoya, Costa Rica, we found that characteristics that farmers considered important were mostly comparable to those stated in the literature. But some differences were also noted; examples included tree height (considered important by farmers, but not in literature) and leaf size (mentioned in literature, but not by farmers). Some tree species that were not considered beneficial as coffee shade trees were still retained in the fields because of the additional benefits they provided. Eighty-eight percent of farmers were interested in incorporating more trees, especially fruit trees, into their coffee plantations. The results of the study underscore the need for research on the little-studied area of interaction between coffee plants and fruit trees.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Beer, J. (1987). Advantages, disadvantages and desirable characteristics of shade trees for coffee, cacao and tea. Agroforestry Systems 5: 3–13.
Beer, J. (1995). Efectos de los arboles de sombra sobre la sostenibilidad de un cafetal. Boletin PROMECAFE 68: 13–18.
Beer, J., Muschler, R., Kass, D., and Somarriba, E. (1998). Shade management in coffee and cacao plantations. Agroforestry Systems 38: 139–164.
Beer, J., Muschler, R., Somarriba, E., and Kass, D. (1997). Timber yielding trees as Shade for coffee. Boletin PROMECAFE 76/77: 5–7.
Campos, O., Rodriguez, E., and Ugalde, L. (1992). Desarrollo Agropecuario Sostenible en la Region de Hojancha, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Rep. No. 195, CATIE/ROCAP, Turrialba, Costa Rica.
Espizona, L. (1983). Estructura general de cafetales de pequenos agricultores. In Heuveldop, J., and Espinoza, L. (eds.), El Componente Arboreo en Acosta y Puriscal, Costa Rica, CATIE, Turrialba, Costa Rica.
Hellin, J., Welchez, L. A., and Cherrett, I. (1999). The Quezungal System: An indigenous agroforestry system from western Honduras. Agroforestry Systems 46: 229–237.
ICAFE. (1998). Manual de Recomendaciones para el cultivo de café, ICAFE-CICAFE, Heredia, Costa Rica.
Lyngbaek, A. E., Muschler, R. G., Sinclair, F. L., and Beer, J. (2001). Productivity and profitability of multistrata versus conventional coffee farms in Costa Rica. Agroforestry Systems 53: 205–213.
Marmillod, A. (1985). Farmers’ attitudes toward trees. In Beer. J., Fassbender, H. W., and Heuveldop, J. (eds.), Advances in Agroforestry Research: Proceedings of a Seminar, September 1–11, 1985, CATIE, Turrialba, Costa Rica.
McLelland, T. L. (1935). Coffee shade in Kenya. The East African Agricultural Journal 1: 107–118.
Moya, J. B., Rojas, E., and Araya, M. A. (2000). Informe Sobre la Actividad Cafetalera de Costa Rica, ICAFE, San Jose, Costa Rica.
Muschler, R. G. (1997). Effects of shading by Erythrina poeppigiana on Coffea arabica cvs. Caturra and cv. Catimor. In Memorias del XVIII Simposio Latinoamericano de Caficultura, 16–18 setiembre, San Jose, Costa Rica, IICA, San Jose, Costa Rica pp. 157–162.
Muschler, R. G. (2000). Arboles en Cafetales. Modulo de Ensenanza Agroforestal No. 5., Proyecto Agroforestal CATIE/GTZ, CATIE, Turrialba, Costa Rica.
Mussak, M., and Laarman, J. (1989). Farmers’ production of timber trees in the cacao-coffee region of coastal Ecuador. Agroforestry Systems 9: 155–170.
Perez, S., Alvarado, A., and Ramirez, E. (1978). Asociacion de Subgrupos de Suelos de Costa Rica, Oficina de Planificacion, Sector Agropecuario, San Jose, Costa Rica.
Perfecto, I., Rice, R., Greenberg, R., and Van der Voort, M. (1996). Shade coffee: A disappearing refuge for biodiversity. BioScience 46: 598–608.
Purseglove, J. W. (1968). Tropical crops: dicotyledons, Wiley, New York.
Ramirez, A., Sere, C., and Uquillas, J. (1992). An economic analysis of improved agroforestry practices in the Amazonian lowlands of Ecuador. Agroforestry Systems 17: 65–86.
Ramirez, O. A., Somarriba, E., Ludewigs, T., and Ferreira, P. (2001). Financial returns, stability and risk of cacao–plantain–timber agroforestry systems in Central America. Agroforestry Systems 51: 141–154.
Rao, M. R., Nair, P. K. R., and Ong, C. K. (1998). Biophysical interactions in agroforestry systems. Agroforestry Systems 38: 3–50.
Rice, R. (1999). A place unbecoming: The coffee farm of northern Latin America. The Geographical Review 89: 554–579.
Samper, K. (1999). Trayectoria y Viabilidad de las Caficulturas Centroamericanas. In Bertrand, B., and Rapidel, B. (eds.), Desafios de la Caficultura en Centroamerica, CIRADIICA-PROMECAFE, San Jose, Costa Rica, pp. 1–68.
Salazar, J. (2000). Fortalecimiento de la transferencia de tecnologia que brinda Coopecerroazul, R.L. a pequenos productores de la zona alta del canton de Nandayure, Guanaccaste, Internal report, Coopecerroazul, Costa Rica.
Somarriba, E. (1990). Sustainable timber production from uneven-aged stands of Cordia alliodora in small coffee farms. Agroforestry Systems 10: 253–263.
Somarriba, E. (1992). Timber harvest, damage to crop plants and yield reduction in two Costa Rican coffee plantations with Cordia alliodora shade trees. Agroforestry Systems 18: 69–82.
Staver, C., Guharay, F., Monterroso, D., Muschler, R. G., and Beer, J. (2001). Designing pestsuppressive multistrata perennial crop systems: Shade-grown coffee in Central America. Agroforestry Systems 53: 151–170.
Technical Division of Coffee Producers of Antiochia, Colombia. (1932). Sombrio del Cafeto. Revista Cafetalera de Colombia 4: 1295–1299.
Zanotti, R. (1997). El Potencial de mercado de la madera y la lena proveniente del sombrio de los cafetales. Boletin PROMECAFE 75: 7–12.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Albertin, A., Nair, P.K.R. Farmers' Perspectives on the Role of Shade Trees in Coffee Production Systems: An Assessment from the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. Human Ecology 32, 443–463 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:HUEC.0000043515.84334.76
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:HUEC.0000043515.84334.76