Colombian Farmers Increasingly Switching From Coffee To Cacao Amid Cost And Climate Change Concerns – CoffeeTalk

Colombian small-scale coffee farmers are increasingly planting cacao due to rising temperatures and climate change. Cacao faces fewer immediate challenges compared to coffee, which is prone to pests and diseases and can integrate well into agroforestry systems. However, agronomists warn that the switch to cacao can lead to clearing forests and increasing chemical inputs to expand existing plantations. Higher profits, high prices of cacao in the market, and increasing expenses needed to manage coffee crops are also factors pushing small-scale farmers towards the switch.

Although coffee remains Colombia’s most important agricultural product, cacao is emerging not just as an alternative but as a defining crop in Colombia’s evolving agricultural future, say agronomists. As small-scale farmers move their coffee plants to higher elevations to escape rising temperatures, new crops like cacao are taking over abandoned lands. Some are switching crops altogether to avoid declining yields. This shift in Colombia’s coffee belt is not just a temporary adaptation but a structural transformation. While coffee cultivation increased in 2024 with more resistant varieties and support, production has seen small increases and even declines in previous years due to droughts and El Niño. Overall, the cultivation area is down by about 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) compared to 10 years ago. Cacao production has been on a continuous rise since 2014, even beating national records with 73,000 tons produced in 2024.

The changing climate has made mid-altitude lands once dominated by coffee ideal for cacao. Economics also play a role in this switch, as cacao prices have increased in the last year and some farmers find it too hard to manage the costs of controlling more pests on their coffee crops as temperatures get warmer. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirmed Figueroa’s analysis, warning that by 2050, up to 50% of current coffee-growing land could be lost due to rising temperatures and unsuitable growing conditions.

Cacao, native to the Amazon, is well-suited to current climate challenges, unlike coffee, which suffers from heat stress and increased pest activity in warming conditions. Its deep-root system allows it to withstand droughts and its resistance to certain diseases reduces the need for chemical inputs. Rising temperatures directly favor threats such as coffee leaf rust and coffee berry borer, which have devastated plantations in Latin America over the past decade.

Cacao faces fewer immediate threats in small-scale farms and can integrate well into some existing agroforestry systems that enhance biodiversity and promote sustainable farming practices. Cacao plantations often include timber trees and fruit trees like oranges and mandarins, which enrich the soil and promote biodiversity. This natural integration minimizes the need for chemical inputs, making cacao a more environmentally sustainable crop. Farmers say that compared to coffee, cacao depends more on natural sensitive pollinators, thus limiting the use of fumigation.

Cacao cannot only rely on fumigation because its pollination also depends on a tiny fly, the Forcipomyia, which negatively impacts the fly. As a result, farmers use pruning techniques to maintain plant health, control pests, and manage diseases, ensuring a more ecologically balanced approach to cultivation. A common exception of pesticide use for small-scale farming is in case of an attack of an ant called hormiga arriera roja, or the red leafcutter ant (Atta cephalotes), that harvests the leaves of the tree.

Technology-driven cacao agriculture uses synthetic chemical fertilizers, such as urea, ammoniacal nitrogen, or sulfur, to compensate for the extraction of nutrients from the soil. These fertilizers are used according to the type of soil and following the guidance of an agro-engineer to favor the best development of the plant. However, the real risk arises when people begin cultivating cacao without a proper understanding of its agricultural requirements, such as the appropriate type of fertilizer based on soil composition or the optimal spacing between trees to ensure healthy growth.

Rising cacao prices fuel a profit-driven approach, leading to the clearing of forests to expand plantations and using unfit fertilizers for the soil they have. Agronomic advancements like grafting clones are helping cacao improve both its yields and resistance to diseases. Cocoa cultivation is now expanding to intermediate altitudes between 800 and 1,200 m (2,620 and 3,940 ft.) and even higher in some regions, marking a significant shift in Colombia’s agricultural landscape.

Colombia’s coffee industry experienced a historic boom in 2024, with prices soaring to $12,900 per ton, an 180% increase from the previous year. This surge was fueled by rising global demand and climate-related challenges in major cacao-producing countries like Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, which saw their production fall to historic lows. Colombian coffee prices also reached historic highs, reaching $3.20 per pound by the end of 2024, the highest level since 1977. However, economists caution that this exceptional year for coffee does not indicate a sustainable trend. Colombia’s record output was primarily due to an extreme drought in Brazil, the world’s top coffee producer, which experienced its worst dry spell in 70 years.

Climate-related risks continue to threaten the long-term viability of coffee cultivation, pushing many farmers to consider alternatives such as cacao. The price of cacao remains the key factor for producers, and the record-high market shift in 2024 has strengthened Colombia’s position in the cacao industry, reinforcing its role as an emerging supplier of high-quality beans and attracting new producers to shift their cultures to cacao. Colombia exported nearly $130 million worth of cacao last year, and projections indicate that Colombia likely surpassed $200 million in exports, a historic record.

High production costs were a key factor in the decision to transition from coffee to cacao, as coffee requires a lot of chemicals to fight pests like the coffee borer, and harvests demand labor we can’t afford. Cacao pods can remain on the tree for up to a month without jeopardizing the harvest, which is crucial in areas where seasonal labor shortages affect harvest cycles. Some small-scale farmers who had avocado crops are also increasing the amount of cacao they grow or making a switch altogether.

Coffee still remains Colombia’s most important agricultural product, but as small-scale coffee farmers face increasing climate pressures, cacao is emerging not just as an alternative but as a defining crop in Colombia’s evolving agricultural future.

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