Shade Grown

Until recently, nearly all commercial production of coffee was managed under a canopy of shade trees. But debt-strapped nations seeking to boost export of commodities have undertaken a deliberate campaign to modernize growing practices away from traditional “shade” coffee to new “sun grown”, or technified, coffee.

Sun coffee plantations produce higher yields, but at a social and environmental cost. Converting a traditional coffee farm into a technified operation involves clear cutting the forest. A casualty of this conversion is biodiversity. Studies in Colombia and Mexico found 94-97% fewer bird species in “sun grown” coffee plantations than in Shade Grown coffee, because most of the birds are found in tree canopies, and very few forage in coffee plants.

Coffee plants exposed to the open sun are more susceptible to disease and often require large applications of expensive chemicals, which many small farmers cannot afford. The removal of shade trees eliminates the fuel wood, timber and fruit crops that often serve as insurance for growers when coffee prices are low or when crops fail.

The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) recommends that a minimum canopy cover of 40% be maintained and that no trimming of epiphytic plants or hemi-epiphytic vines be conducted on the shade trees.

Planted shade plantations generally consist of a backbone of trees, which are the predominant species planted to provide the optimal shade environment for the coffee plant. Certain species of trees are unacceptable as backbone species because they are deciduous during the dry season, leaving the "shade" plantation shadeless during a time of the year when canopy cover for both migrant and resident birds may be most critical.

For more specific information regarding Shade Grown please visit www.si.edu/smbc