How Coffee Agroforestry Can Play A Critical Role In Eco Restoration – CoffeeTalk

In 2019, Narmada Estate in Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru district decided to go organic and diversify the coffee-cropping system to reduce pests. Sohan Shetty, the estate’s general manager, began scouting for suitable plants to grow alongside organic coffee. He discovered that the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) had been actively restoring rainforests in Valparai, Tamil Nadu, for years. Shetty shared the list of trees and seeds available with both the Forest Department and the seed supplier. However, only three of these species are native to the Western Ghats, which shook Shetty.

Shade trees in coffee agroforests can comprise a variety of species that are native to forests of the region. The species with fresh red leaves at the center of the image is Canarium strictum, which produces fleshy fruits that attract birds and a resin that is culturally and economically important. In search of a better solution, Shetty visited a nursery run by NCF on land allocated by the Kadamane Estates Company in Sakleshpur taluk, Hassan district, which had been set up in 2022. By that time, Shetty had set up a nursery with 1.2 lakh bags, which could accommodate that many saplings.

Anand Osuri, a scientist with NCF and the paper’s lead author, said that the study took off in 2023. Vedika Dutta, another co-author, had come to Osuri as a master’s student, wanting to study birds in coffee agroforests, with a focus on frugivorous or fruit-eating birds. They were struck by the large numbers and wide variety of native tree seeds and seedlings on the coffee estate floor.

NCF was also thinking about a forest restoration project in the coffee-growing landscape of the hilly Malnad region by partnering with local residents and landowners. These landowners had different motivations to restore forests, ranging from an interest in conservation to entering carbon and biodiversity markets or attracting birds to their homestays. Osuri believes that the availability of diverse native plants, sourced locally and ethically, is critical to do so.

Shade coffee agroforests can play a role in ecological restoration by providing a diverse range of plants and seedlings for the coffee industry.

Researchers from National Coffee Foundation (NCF) have been working on a restoration project in the Western Ghats region of India. The project aims to collect seeds and seedlings that can be raised in nurseries, as collecting seeds from forests reduces seed availability and impacts the resources of animals, birds, and insects. The team aims to harness the potential of coffee farms as a source of seeds for restoration by documenting the diversity of native tree species found within the coffee estates.

The team documented over 90 native tree species relevant for forest restoration in the region, including those native to the Western Ghats and endemic to the region, some of which are classified by the IUCN as being threatened. Between 2023 and 2024, around 18,000 seeds and seedlings of 56 native tree species were rescued and are currently being raised in two restoration nurseries established through collaborations between NCF and agroforest owners.

Currently, the restoration project is in a pilot stage, with the NCF team focusing on expanding the network of seed source coffee farms and developing more native plant nurseries. The idea is to not just view coffee agroforests as refuges for biodiversity but also acknowledge their potential to contribute to conservation in the wider landscape by being a source of native plants for restoration.

To further expand their efforts, the NCF team plans to discuss findings with the Karnataka Forest Department to see if there is a workable model for connecting seed sources in coffee farms with nurseries of the forest department. If they can develop models for connecting seed sources in coffee farms with nurseries of the forest department, the scale and potential of the project will go up because the department already has an excellent network of nurseries.

Osuri also hopes to strengthen and scale up their efforts in the Malenadu region, as nearly 70% of India’s coffee production comes from the Malenadu region, which is also an important region for biodiversity conservation and restoration. His long-term goal is to continue exploring opportunities and collaborate with coffee farmers and landowners for restoration, experiment with different approaches to restoration, and contribute in any other way he can to biodiversity in the region.

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