Mejoramiento de la sostenibilidad del sistema de producción de café con sombra de árboles maderables

National coffee sector has been in a continuous crisis in the last decade due to abrupt changes in international prices. According to last national agrarian census (INEC, 2015), there is a decline in coffee plantation area, from more than 110 000 ha 15 years ago, to around 85 000 nowdays. New sprouts of diseases like coffee rust bursted up 6 years ago, among other problems that impacted even harder coffee activity in the country. Nitrogen-based fertilizers used in coffee production increase its ecological footprint in terms of greenhouse emissions. Another issue added to the demand for a better coffee technological package. Meanwhile, forest sector has been sunk into a deep crisis in last decade. Reforestation annual rate continues to decline year after year, imported wood continues being incremented as well as wood substitutes. Housing and furniture industries continue utilizing wood substitutes, pushing away the country from its neutral carbon goals for year 2021. National Forest Development Plan (PNDF 2011-2020) establishes seven strategic axis, among them are included Repositioning of Forestry Sector, Competitiveness, Sustainability and Innovation. Coffee plantations offers an important place where to promote the cultivation of highly valuable tree species, and then, the possibility of improving the economic and social value of coffee model. Trees with a higher wood density and volume production, will contribute to a decrease in carbon footprint and to generate income options to producers, especially important during low coffee price cycles. Coffee plantations could become as well, in highly valuable wood suppliers to society, as long as a proper technological package is being adopted, based on genetically superior planting material. The knowledge being produced in this project will contribute to the country leadership and positioning in breeding and silviculture of highly valuable native tree species in Latin-American region. Besides, this project will contribute to improve our coffee´s international imagen associated to its high quality, high socioeconomical value, but now, carbon neutral and biodiverse

​Mejorar la sostenibilidad del sistema agroforestal de producción de café con maderables como sombra​