SHADE COFFEE COCOA & REFORESTATION PROJECT
“Every year (in Peru), we lose about 150,000 hectares of forest due to the pressure of migratory agriculture...”
Source: Report of the Comptroller of the People - 2011
"The region needs to work on replanting the forests and moving toward a carbon-neutral agriculture."
Agriculture Minister of Peru Juan Manuel Benites - December 2014
Many factors have contributed to the deforestation of the Amazonian basin. Poor forest management techniques, the burning of fields for weed control, illegal logging and mining have all contributed to the loss of forest cover, erosion of the soil and in turn, to a loss of income for local producers.
The continuation of such practices will clearly prevent the development of a sustainable economy in these communities.
Methods are available to remedy the situation but are often out of reach of the local farmers and cooperatives due to their limited economic resources, capacities or technical know how.
Coffee and cocoa plantations are often old and unproductive as well as poorly protected against the effect of climate change. The loss of income due to the low productivity related to climate change will reduce the importance of agroforestry which in turn will negatively affect soil fertility and the availability (quality) of water resources.
