Aiming for a Low-carbon Coffee Sector: First Results of the Costa Rican Coffee NAMA
At its one-year mark, the world’s first agricultural NAMA, Costa Rica’s NAMA Café, and its NAMA Support Project are showing positive results.
2016 in review
Over 600 coffee producers were trained in good agricultural practices (GAPs) and farm resource management. A total of 250 extension workers and technicians from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the National Coffee Institute and several coffee mills were trained in knowledge transfer, gender equality, climate change adaptation and emission reduction measures. Thirty-four mills learned to measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated during coffee processing and calculate their carbon footprints.
Selected coffee mills participated in a trip to Germany to negotiate future collaborations with manufacturers, suppliers and coffee roasters. Larger mills focused on technical developments in the composting and pelletisation of organic materials, whereas smaller mills took the opportunity to promote their low-carbon coffee.
Outlook for 2017
Thirty-four mills are measuring their water footprints and 16 are carrying out GHG inventories. In addition, training in farm management, pests and diseases, and the importance of shade trees in minimising the impacts of climate change are being offered to producers.
A credit support fund administered by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration and disbursed in collaboration with national financial institutions will be launched to help facilitate investment in sustainable technologies and the adoption of climate-friendly practices on farms and in mills.
Twenty-five mills are receiving support in developing ideas to successfully market low-carbon coffee internationally, defining key consumer groups and adapting marketing and sales strategies accordingly. A second trip to Germany will be offered to selected mills, which will receive training beforehand to develop and improve marketing and sales skills.
The NAMA Café, which is being implemented by the Ministry for Environment and Energy, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the National Coffee Institute, aims to achieve sustainable coffee production and processing in Costa Rica. With funding amounting to USD 10 million, it intends to reduce GHG emissions and improve resource use efficiency on plantations and mills, creating the first low-emission coffee worldwide and enabling national coffee producers to access new markets.
The NAMA Café is supported by the NAMA Support Project (NSP) ‘Low-Carbon Coffee Costa Rica’, which is being implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. With a total funding commitment of EUR 7 million provided by the NAMA Facility, this NSP aims to reach 6,000 producers and 50 mills on 25,000 hectares that implement at least two low-emission technologies.
For more information, please contact us at namacafe@giz.de and visit our website (see link on the right).