Brazilian Bounty

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August marks the beginning of green coffee exports from the largest and perhaps most spectacular coffee harvest in Brazil in 150 years. Estimates are firm at a combined 58 to 60 million 60-kilo bags of arabica and robusta.

The 2018/19 harvest is the biennial peak of productivity and farmers already had harvested 50% of the crop by the end of July. Brazil is the world’s top coffee exporter, producing a third of the world’s supply. And this will likely be a record year.

In a country where a global yield of 10 bags per hectare doubled to 25 bags and is now approaching an average 30 bags per hectare, innovation has enabled even the tiniest farms to become champions of productivity. Widespread irrigation, new varietals, and better agricultural practices (soil management, leaf analysis, pest and diseases control) all contributed to an extraordinary harvest.

“When Brazil was producing 10 bags per hectare, for example, each plant had 3 to 4 meters of spacing. There were 1,200 to 2,000 plants per hectare. This belongs to the past now,” explains Carlos Brando, director and partner of coffee consulting, marketing and trading company P&A International Marketing. Densification of coffee plants (where plants are grouped as close as possible given soil, sun, and wind conditions) is one of the key elements to maximize mother nature’s blessings.

Controlling plagues and diseases, especially for arabica, and genetic improvement in varietals permitted greater concentration of coffee in smaller areas.

“After 131 years dedicated to science, the Agronomic Institute of Campinas (IAC) launched more than 60 commercial varietals which are responsible for more than 90% of coffee production in Brazil,” according to IAC. Host of the biggest germplasm bank in the world, IAC played a decisive role improving productivity.

Embrapa Café, Procafé, UFLA, IAPAR, EPAMIG, and the Federal University of Viçosa each have a long history of contributing to the scientific knowledge applied to coffee and continue to do so today.

Three strategies combined to make Brazil the world’s top coffee producer.

Irrigation technology

Drips and large-scale use of pivot sprinklers is crucial for coffee produc- tion in places such as Cerrado Mineiro. Besides assuring the ideal amount of water, agronomists enrich the spray with nutrients. Sensors with remote controls help to increase efficiency in a sustainable production, according to the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé).

Densification

Planting coffee trees closer–average spacing is now 70 centimeters –exponentially increased production and facilitated mechanization. According to CONAB some properties maintain 5,000 plants per hectare and an aver- age harvest of 30 bags in per hectare.

Precision agriculture

New technology allows the mapping of very small parcels. Coffee farms use global positioning equipment to determine drainage and terrain meter by meter. Laboratory analysis of soil conditions and leaves provide unprecedented levels of precision in applying inputs–fertilizers and disease control– according to demand.