Evaluation of Hawaii Coffee Agroforestry Systems 2007-09
- Published:2009-05-17 03:33:31
Click for original documents on Agroforestry.net
The ecological and economic benefits of shade-grown coffee agroforestry systems have been recognized for many years throughout the tropics, but have been little studied in Hawai‘i. Over the past few years, innovative farmers in Kona and elsewhere in Hawai‘i have begun experimenting with shade-grown coffee. These farmers and others considering coffee agroforestry are in need of technical assistance based on research. This project studied twelve existing shade-grown coffee orchards and compared them with open-grown coffee based on soil organic matter, major insect pests and plant diseases, yield and bean quality, and environmental conditions (shade levels, tree density, plant species present, etc.). We expect that shade-grown coffee has potential for wider adoption.
This project was sponsored by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Innovation Grant program and the County of Hawai‘i Department of Research and Development in partnership with the Big Island Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council, with matching contributions from the project collaborators’ organizations. The Big Island RC&D Council is a 501c3 non-profit corporation registered in the State of Hawai‘i. The RC&D Program is a public-private partnership administered by NRCS that assists individuals and organizations with grant acquisition and fiscal management for beneficial community projects.
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