CLIMATE CHANGE AND VIETNAMESE
COFFEE PRODUCTION
MANUAL ON CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION
IN THE COFFEE SECTOR FOR LOCAL TRAINERS
AND COFFEE FARMERS
2 - Climate Change and Vietnamese Coffee Production - Training Manual
Imprint
Produced for coffee farmers and trainers in Vietnam
Contact: Coffee Climate Care – C3
UTZ (Implementing agent)
Henriette Walz
henriette.walz@utz.org
Thiet van Nguyen
thiet.nguyen@utz.org
Henk van Rikxoort
henk.vanrikxoort@utz.org
Team of authors:
Britta Wyss Bisang (UTZ), Don Jansen (DE Foundation), Kerstin Linne (Green Linne Consulting), Thiet Nguyen
(UTZ), Henriette Walz (UTZ)
The manual is available at the UTZ website
January 2016
Climate Change and Vietnamese Coffee Production - Training Manual - 3
Contents
Foreword - - - - - - - - - - - - 4
1. Introduction: Coffee, climate change and UTZ - - - - - - 5
2. Climate change – an introduction - - - - - - - - 6
2.1 What is climate change and what are its causes? - - - - - - 6
2.2 What are the impacts of climate change? - - - - - - - 8
2.3 What are climate change impacts on coffee production? - - - - 9
2.4 How does the coffee sector contribute to the global climate change phenomenon? 10
2.5 Climate change and Vietnamese coffee production - - - - - 10
3. How can coffee producers respond to climate change? - - - - 13
3.1 Climate change adaptation - - - - - - - - - 13
3.2 Climate change mitigation - - - - - - - - - 14
4. How to work with farmers on climate change? - - - - - - 16
4.1 Identifying local impacts of climate change – Participatory Vulnerability Assessments 16
4.2 Preparing local trainings - - - - - - - - - 21
4.3 Different types of local trainings - - - - - - - - 26
4.4 Monitoring and evaluation - - - - - - - - - 27
5. Case study Vietnam: Suitable adaptation / mitigation measures in the coffee sector 29
5.1 Awareness raising - - - - - - - - - - 29
5.2 Improvement of water management - - - - - - - 30
5.2.1 Correct timing for irrigation - - - - - - - - - 31
5.2.2 Controlling the amount of water for irrigation purposes - - - - - 31
5.2.3 Ground cover after irrigation - - - - - - - - 32
5.3 Prevention of soil erosion - - - - - - - - - 32
5.4 Shade management and windbreaks - - - - - - - 33
5.5 Fertilization management - - - - - - - - - 35
5.5.1 Timing for fertilizer application - - - - - - - - 36
5.6 Pest and disease management - - - - - - - - 37
5.7 Adapting the coffee plant - resistant varieties - - - - - - 39
5.8 Solar driers - - - - - - - - - - - 41
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS - - - - - - - - - - 42
REMEMBER THAT - - - - - - - - - - - 43
References - - - - - - - - - - - - 44
4 - Climate Change and Vietnamese Coffee Production - Training Manual
FOREWORD
The agricultural sector is increasingly faced with major challenges. They arise from complex market
interactions and crystalize in, among others, increasing prices of labor as well as of input materials,
and daily changing supply and demand of products. Climate change aggravates the already
difficult business of agricultural production with severe weather events such as prolonged droughts,
heavy rains, tornadoes, hurricanes and floods.
To limit the risks from climate change for coffee farmers, UTZ Certified implemented the Coffee Climate
Care project under the support of the Douwe Egbert Foundation (DEF) and the Deutsche Investitions- und
Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) together with the two trading companies ACOM Vietnam Lt. (member of the
ECOM coffee group) in Lam Dong and DAKMAN in Daklak. The project aimed at helping coffee growers get
the information and good farming practices to minimize production losses caused by climate change.
Running for 3 years, the scope and time line of the project were inherently limited. However, good results
were achieved through great coordination on the local level and smooth collaboration of different partners.
A thorough documentation made it possible to develop an extensive body of (training) materials. National
and international scientists together with local extension staff and farmers representatives identified the
impacts of climate change on coffee production in the two areas in Vietnam, and analyzed the risks
occurring for farmers during coffee cultivation and the greenhouse gas emissions per ton coffee. This data
collection formed the basis of the content of this manual as well as other training material for coffee growers
and local trainers in the situation of current climate change.
This manual aims to assist producers in adapting to and mitigating climate change by providing information
on climate change, the concepts of adaptation and mitigation and, in particular, by presenting farming
practices that coffee growers have made good experiences under the new challenges related to climate
change. Although these practices are not entirely new, coffee growers were hesitant in the past to
implement them for various reasons. However, without these practices coffee cultivation will not be feasible
for farmers in the near future and, especially, for those of future generations.
Climate change is complex and uncertain and only a flexible management can deal with such a problem.
We therefore explicitly welcome any feedback - suggestions and experiences – which will be taken into
account when next versions are developed.
We sincerely thank all the farmers in the two pilot areas, the donors, scientists, managers and local extension
staff. Their enthusiastic participation formed the basis for the implementation of the project and for
developing this manual.
Climate Change and Vietnamese Coffee Production - Training Manual - 5
1. INTRODUCTION: COFFEE, CLIMATE CHANGE AND UTZ
In many tropical and subtropical regions climate change threatens to become an environmental
disaster for farmers due to decreased water availability, new or different pest and disease attacks
and more frequent extreme weather events. Crop yields are at risk, in terms of quality and quantity
and hence farmer income. Robusta as well as Arabica coffee are especially vulnerable to such
climatic hazards as they depend on a very narrow climatic range. Scientific projections warn that
climate change can reduce the area climatically suitable for coffee production by up to 50%
especially in lower altitudes if no action is taken1.
While climate change affects agricultural production, the latter in turn contributes to the global climate
change phenomenon by emitting greenhouse gases (GHG) through e.g. deforestation, decomposition
of organic residues and fertilizer use. Consequently agriculture, forestry and land use changes account for
around 25% of global emissions2. There is, therefore, an increasing need for approaches in agriculture that
not only help farmers adapt to a changing climate but also minimize the contribution of farming to global
warming.
Because of these two sides of the same coin – climate change impacting agriculture as well as agriculture
contributing to climate change – UTZ‘ mission to support sustainable farming worldwide is compromised by
climate change. UTZ therefore addresses climate change through requirements in the Code of Conduct
as well as through specific pilot projects. The Coffee Climate Care project in Vietnam (C3) is one such pilot
project. C3 ran from 2013 to 2015 and worked on adaptation strategies that make coffee producers more
resilient against climate change impacts. Additionally, greenhouse gas emissions in coffee production were
analyzed. The partnership is sponsored by the Douwe Egberts Foundation and the Deutsche Investitions- und
Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) with public funds of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and
Development (BMZ).
Among the first steps in regards to producer level interventions the project carried out kick-off workshops
with two producer units in Vietnam and sensitization sessions with coffee farmers. These sessions aimed at
generating basic knowledge around climate change impacts on coffee production and response options at
farmer level. The most severe climate change hazards for the Vietnamese coffee production were identified
in vulnerability assessments with both farmers and experts, together with other sector experts. These hazards
include, for example, an increased occurrence of droughts, erosion and rising temperatures (heat stress).
Based on these assessments suitable adaptation practices were implemented in pilots on the ground. They
included shading, ground cover, improved fertilization and irrigation.
The results of the project fed back into the core work of UTZ around the UTZ Code of Conduct3. Implementing
the Code’s good agricultural practices already helps certified groups adapt to climate change. Improving
water management helps producers adjust to decreased water availability in the future. Choosing suitable
crop varieties and improving soil fertility increase resistance to droughts. Furthermore, making efficient use of
resources using less energy from non-renewable sources and reducing waste and pollution reduces farmers’
contribution to climate change4.
However, the effects of climate change differ from region to region. Some regions might not be affected,
while others face severe impacts. The UTZ Code of Conduct therefore asks each certified entity to analyze
their situation and to assist members in designing and implementing measures that alleviate the impacts of
climate change where needed (for guidance on this topic see the guidance document available at the
UTZ’ homepage)5.
During the course of the C3 project a lot of experience was built on how to set up trainings in the Vietnamese
context. This manual ensures that this experience is disseminated to other farmers, trainers and certified
entities as they also have to address climate change in order to comply with the UTZ Code of Conduct. More
importantly, it shall help coffee farmers be well-prepared for a future with changes in local micro-climates.
1 Bunn et al 2014
2 IPCC, 2014
3 Available at https://utz.org/resource-library/?fwp_media_type=documents&fwp_language…-
conduct
4 The mentioned practices are covered (in order as they’re mentioned) under control points G.B.68, G.B.108, G.B.109, G.B.110, G.B.36,
G.B.46, G.B.48, G.B.68, G.B.70, G.D.119, G.D.114 in the UTZ Core Code of Conduct, Version 1.1, For Group and Multi-Group Certification,
2015
5 Control point G.D. 114, UTZ Core Code of Conduct, Version 1.1, For Group and Multi-Group Certification, 2015
6 - Climate Change and Vietnamese Coffee Production - Training Manual
This manual is structured as follows: chapter 2 presents general information on climate change, chapter 3
the concepts of adaptation and mitigation, chapter 4 describes different training methodologies including
vulnerability assessment seminars and farmer training methods and chapter 5 farming practices that coffee
growers can implement in order to become more resilient against climate change and to reduce their own
impact.
Most chapters include background as well as very practical information. To make it easier for trainers and
farmers to distinguish the practical information from the background, we highlighted them in blue boxes,
called “How to implement”. In some chapters they contain information on how to conduct a specific
training; in others they contain information that should be considered when implementing a certain
practices. What unifies them is that they contain information that should be considered when practically
implementing the advice elaborated in this project.
2. CLIMATE CHANGE – AN INTRODUCTION
2.1 WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE AND WHAT ARE ITS CAUSES?
Climate change is a natural phenomenon and is defined as any significant change in measures of climate,
such as temperature or precipitation, lasting for an extended period of time, typically decades. This definition
by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is internationally recognized and includes the
natural climate change phenomenon as well as climate change caused by human activity. The IPCC is the
leading international scientific body on the assessment of climate change under the auspices of the United
Nations.
Persistent human activities like driving cars, farming, burning coal and cutting down forests produce
greenhouse gases (GHG) – mainly carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and
haloflourocarbons (HFC). These gases gather in the atmosphere, trap heat and thereby speed up the natural
climate change phenomenon:
The earth receives energy from the sun in form of short wave radiation. Solar radiation passes through the
atmosphere to reach the earth‘s surface. The earth absorbs some of the energy and radiates the rest back
into the atmosphere in form of infrared radiation, which is then absorbed by such greenhouse gases. Thereby
infrared radiation remains in the atmosphere, which leads to global warming. An increased amount of GHG
in the atmosphere in turn leads to changes in our climate.
Figure 1 describes this process:
The Greenhouse Effect
Some sunlight that hits the earth is reflected.
Some becomes heat.
CO2 and other gases
in the atmosphere
trap heat, keeping
the earth warm
A
TM
O
SP
HE
RE
Figure 1: The Greenhouse Effect (Adapted from Department of Ecology, State of Washington)
Climate Change and Vietnamese Coffee Production - Training Manual - 7
Figure 2: Global emissions by sector. Taken from IPCC, 2014.
Indirect emissions refer to GHG emissions caused by energy and heat production accredited to the specific
sectors. As figure 2 shows, 0,87% out of the total 25% of emissions generated by energy and heat production
can be accredited to agriculture, forestry and other land uses. In total AFOLU thus is responsible of 24,87% of
global emissions.
In agriculture, such as coffee farming, there are several sources capable of causing greenhouse gas
emissions. Emissions accredited to the sector are listed below; however, the list is not prioritized according to
the volume each source emits, but rather structured to correspond to figure 3:
1. Emissions caused at the homestead (e.g. through cooking (with wood, coal etc.), building with wood or
using electricity; mainly CO2 is released)
2. Emissions from livestock (natural digestion leads to CH4 emissions)
3. Emissions from soil disturbing activities (e.g. tillage leads to N2O emissions)
4. Emissions from farm machinery (e.g. tractors cause CO2 emissions)
5. Emissions from deforestation or destruction of vegetation (e.g. burning of biomass leads to CO2 emissions)
6. Emissions from fertilizer or pesticide application (lead to N2O emissions)
7. Emissions from energy generation on the farm e.g. through anaerobic digestion processes such as in
bio-digesters (depending on the source of energy (manure, compost etc.) can lead to CO2, N2O or CH4
emissions)
On global level there are several sectors causing greenhouse gas emissions. The IPCC has identified 6 main
sectors: electricity and heat production, buildings, transport, industry, other energy and “agriculture, forestry
and other land uses” (AFOLU). The green sector, AFOLU, emits around 25% of global emissions, i.e. ¼ of total
emissions worldwide:
Figure 3: Greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture.
Taken from Occupy Monsanto, 2015.
8 - Climate Change and Vietnamese Coffee Production - Training Manual
However, the agricultural sector does not only release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, but it also
has the potential to store such gases. Biomass, i.e. biological material such as trees, shrubs, bushes or grass,
absorbs CO2 through photosynthesis. As long as the biomass grows, it therefore stores increasing amounts of
CO2 and thus reduces the CO2 in our atmosphere. Through natural decomposition or by humans harvesting,
logging or clearing vegetation this CO2 is, however, released back into the atmosphere over time.
2.2 WHAT ARE THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE?
The increase of GHG caused by human activity thus warms the climate system. According to IPCC the
warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are
unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow
and ice have diminished, and the sea level has risen6, leading to many changes in our weather conditions.
Climate change is an internationally recognized problem and its impacts are noted on global level
throughout many different sectors – agriculture being one of them. The main impacts of climate change are
a rise in the intensity and frequency of extreme events such as storms and floods, increasing temperatures,
changes in rainfall patterns, the melting of glaciers, the warming of oceans and the warming of the poles
leading to a rise in our sea level.
These impulses by our climate are called climate hazards or climate stimuli.
In the future such hazards are likely to intensify. With regards to temperature and precipitation the IPCC
predicts the following further future changes on global scale:
Figure 4: Change in average surface temperature (average between 1986-2005 on the left; predicted average between 2081 and 2100
on the right); taken from IPCC, 2014.
Figure 5: Change in average precipitation: average change between 1986 and 2005 on the left; projected change for period from 2081
to 2100 on the right; taken from IPCC, 2014.
6 IPCC, 2014
Climate Change and Vietnamese Coffee Production - Training Manual - 9
According to these predictions global surface temperature is likely to increase by 1.5°C until 2100 with
more frequent hot and fewer cold temperature extremes over most land areas. In many mid-latitude and
subtropical dry regions, mean precipitation will likely decrease, while in many mid-latitude wet regions,
mean precipitation will likely increase. Extreme precipitation events over most mid-latitude landmasses
and over wet tropical regions are very likely to become more intense and more frequent as global mean
surface temperature increases. Furthermore, it is likely that the area under monsoon systems will increase
and monsoon precipitation is likely to intensify. El Niño-Southern Oscillation related precipitation variability on
regional scales is likely to intensify. However, it is important to understand that climate change impacts are
site-specific depending on local conditions and local climatic changes.
For the agricultural sector these climate hazards are likely to translate into a loss in biodiversity, longer
growing seasons, increases in pests and vector borne diseases and more unpredictable farming conditions.
Ultimately, farmers especially in tropical areas and small-scale agriculture are expected to be among the
ones hit hardest (see also next chapter).
2.3 WHAT ARE CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON COFFEE PRODUCTION?
The rate in which climate change normally appears does not cause major problems to flora and fauna.
The fact that temperatures worldwide are increasing is not even a problem in itself. However, the fact that
the climate is changing as rapidly as never before turns it into a problem. Due to this rapid change, plants
and organisms are not able to adapt fast enough. Whereas normally this process would take hundreds or
maybe even thousands of years, many plants and organisms now do not have enough time to adapt to the
changing climatic circumstances. This is also the case in coffee. The fact that climate is changing is not an
insuperable problem, but the rate it is currently doing so creates magnificent impact.
Increasing temperatures and changing rain patterns cause the main impacts in the coffee sector. Optimal
conditions to produce Robusta coffee include temperatures between 22 and 26°C and annual rainfall
around 1,500ml. For Arabica coffee tempera
