In less than 20 years, the fungus killed Sri Lanka’s coffee industry and began to expand around the world. But everything changed that year when the Hemileia vastatrix fungus, a disease that causes coffee leaf rust and ruins coffee plantations, spread across the island. In 1869, Sri Lanka - a small island in the south of the Indian subcontinent - was a world coffee power, producing more than 45,000 tons annually. That could happen in Nicaragua, where analysts say the optimum altitude for coffee cultivation will rise from 1,200 meters above sea level to 1,600 meters by mid-century.
Meanwhile, some areas that are not ideal for growing coffee may become hospital to the crop. Rising temperatures will reduce the area suitable for growing coffee by up to 50% by 2050. To grow properly, coffee crops require specific temperature, light and humidity levels and those needs are best met in Latin America’s so-called coffee belt, a region that includes countries between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.īut this is likely to change.
Scientists also say we will see longer and more extreme periods of rain and drought, making farming even harder. Climate change experts say that global temperatures will continue to rise this century, increasing between 1.5✬ and 4.5✬ in the hottest months. And if we don’t act quickly it could become irreversible. The return on their investment is steadily declining, leading them to abandon coffee for other crops or to give up entirely and migrate to cities or even move abroad. Those hurting the most are small producers, especially those with less than two hectares of land. In recent years, though, climate change, pests and declining coffee prices have created a perfect storm that threatens the welfare of millions of producers and their families. Today the coffee industry employs more than 14 million people across Latin America. Farmers in the region have long viewed coffee as a good way to make a living.
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