UNITED KINGDOM
A new study released in October challenges another report alleging climate change could wipe out coffee crops by 2080.
The new study, published by the University of Exeter, claims money is to blame for increased incidences of coffee leaf rust.
The Climate Institute pointed a finger at climate change in a study released in September. In that report, it was theorized that increasing temperatures, fungi and pests would make half of the world’s coffee farming land unsuitable for arabica production 2050. It further predicted wild coffee varieties such as arabica could be extinct by 2080.
But the University of Exeter study suggests a “perfect storm” of bad weather and decreased use of fertilizers led the the outbreak. The 2008 worldwide financial crisis and price increases led the the fertilizer cutbacks, the study said.
The Exeter research studied coffee plantations in Columbia where production fell by about 40% between 2008 and 2011 because of severe outbreak of coffee rust.
"Farmers weren't treating coffee bushes as they normally would, and this was probably one of the factors that led to the rise in coffee leaf rust," lead author Dr. Dan Bebber told the Telegraph. "The climate at the time was conducive to coffee leaf rust but there had been earlier periods of similar conditions when there wasn't an outbreak."