Fortaleciendo la capacidad de adaptación de los caficultores mesoamericanos ante los cambios globales

The coffee sector in Mesoamerica, comprising approximately 580,000 producers—mostly smallholders with less than 5 hectares—is highly vulnerable to global price volatility and extreme weather events. Between 2000 and 2003, the region saw a 44% decrease in coffee trade earnings and the loss of 500,000 jobs for heads of households. While some farmers have adapted through organic production, fair trade, and social organization, others have been forced to diversify into non-agricultural activities or migrate. The document argues for a stronger public sector leadership to implement policies that combine indigenous knowledge with financial mechanisms (such as insurance and micro-credit) and social capital to improve long-term sustainability and climate resilience.

• Mesoamerican coffee production is dominated by small-scale farmers, with approximately 300,000 producers in Central America and 280,000 in Mexico, most of whom manage fewer than 5 hectares of land using family labor.
• Global market volatility had severe socio-economic impacts between 2000 and 2003, resulting in a 44% drop in coffee trade profits for the region and the loss of employment for 500,000 heads of households, which negatively affected rural poverty and food security.
• Climate change and extreme hydrometeorological events, such as hurricanes, droughts, and landslides, threaten both the livelihoods of farmers and the regional environmental services provided by traditional shade-grown coffee, including carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and soil erosion reduction.
• Successful adaptation strategies by farmers include adopting sustainable agricultural practices to enter new markets, forming social organizations to access technology and support, and diversifying into non-agricultural activities or migrating to urban centers or developed countries.
• To improve adaptive capacity, the document recommends policies focused on three pillars: knowledge management (combining public and private technical assistance for soil conservation and variety selection), financial mechanisms (insurance and micro-credit to buffer price and climate risks), and the strengthening of social capital to facilitate government support.

APA

Eakin, H., Castellanos, E., & Haggar, J. (2024). Fortaleciendo la capacidad de adaptación de los caficultores mesoamericanos ante los cambios globales. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. https://iai.int/en/fortaleciendo-la-capacidad-de-adaptacion-de-los-caficultores-mesoamericanos-ante-los-cambios-globales/

Chicago

Eakin, Hallie, Edwin Castellanos, and Jeremy Haggar. Fortaleciendo la capacidad de adaptación de los caficultores mesoamericanos ante los cambios globales. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, 2024. https://iai.int/en/fortaleciendo-la-capacidad-de-adaptacion-de-los-caficultores-mesoamericanos-ante-los-cambios-globales/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Eakin |first1=Hallie |last2=Castellanos |first2=Edwin |last3=Haggar |first3=Jeremy |title=Fortaleciendo la capacidad de adaptación de los caficultores mesoamericanos ante los cambios globales |publisher=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |date=8 October 2024 |url=https://iai.int/en/fortaleciendo-la-capacidad-de-adaptacion-de-los-caficultores-mesoamericanos-ante-los-cambios-globales/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{eakin2024fortaleciendo, author = {Eakin, Hallie and Castellanos, Edwin and Haggar, Jeremy}, title = {{Fortaleciendo la capacidad de adaptación de los caficultores mesoamericanos ante los cambios globales}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://iai.int/en/fortaleciendo-la-capacidad-de-adaptacion-de-los-caficultores-mesoamericanos-ante-los-cambios-globales/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }