El cafetal del futuro

Gone are the times when the coffee grower could restrict his outlook to the realm of the farm. He now has to look beyond farm gate if he is to take wise decisions. Consumption patterns and trends are at the root of the decisions whether to plant, what to plant, how to mill and when to bring coffee to market. At the same time that the coffee grower has to focus on the market, the market is focusing on the grower. Issues like traceability and certification are progressively capturing consumers’ attention and directing their eyes to what happens on farms. Is coffee produced in a socially and environmentally responsible way? To have a viable and sustainable coffee business in today’s globalize and very competitive world requires a lot more than just to produce coffee. The grower must indeed dominate agricultural technology, but he must be also aware of market trends in order to plant the right varieties and to process coffee to clients’ requirements. He must protect his environment to ensure the continuity of his business. He must be socially responsible to grant a better life and future for his collaborators. He must diversify into other cultures to survive when coffee prices are low. And he must do all this and still turn out a profit. What a challenge! El Cafetal del Futuro, Realidades y Visiones lives up to its name because it covers many of the subjects above, with a view towards the future, as the title indicates. Different as the subjects are, based on a wealth of practical experiences and academic studies, but restricted to a relatively small area of the coffee world, the articles enabled the editors to put together chapters that touch upon the major challenges that face today’s coffee growers. As a result, the book has a universal appeal. Beyond the quality and depth of the articles themselves, the chapters call attention to the challenges that face the modern coffee business and the articles propose interesting paths to meet these challenges. It is up to the art and craft of the coffee grower to “blend” the information in the book with his own practical experience to achieve the goal of building or maintaining a sustainable coffee business, no matter the size and location of its property. This book does not hold all the answers to the coffee growers’ problems, even in the area on whose experience it is based, but it does propose many solutions and indicate valuable paths to seek still other solutions. Carlos Henrique Jorge Brando