The Colombian Coffee Crisis

The nation of Columbia is the third largest producer of coffee beans in the world, and the country alone accounts for more than 10% of coffee exports worldwide. The specific species of coffee grown in Colombia is called the Arabica bean, and it is renowned for its high quality taste and is widely grown, despite the fragile environment which it needs to grow in. The bean is extremely sensitive to temperature and rain fluctuations, a fact that spells trouble ahead for those in Colombia who depend on the coffee industry. The region in Colombia that grows these beans is called the Coffee Axis, and is extremely ideal for the Arabica bean because it can maintain the finicky temperature and rain requirements in order for the popular bean to grow. 500,000 small farms utilize the area to grow coffee, and many operate with very slim margins and make little for themselves. In the past few years, the Coffee Axis has already seen a measurable decrease in the amount of land fit for the Arabica bean, as rising temperatures force farmers to move further uphill in order to keep growing coffee. Since 2013, there has been a 7% decrease in land use in the Coffee Axis, and that number is predicted to grow exponentially in the coming years. Many farmers have taken to growing trees for shade in order to keep beans cool, or to searching for more heat resistant variants of the Arabica bean, but these solutions are only temporary. Many farmers are already losing out due to cost barriers, and the aftermath of the COVID pandemic has exacerbated economic strife in the region already. Along with the struggle in growing the bean, manpower to pick them has become increasingly scarce. Those who pick coffee beans are often not given a fixed income, job security, or health insurance, as large and small farms must keep budgets very tight in order to stay with foreign competition. Many farms have tried to incentivize workers with higher wages, but it is difficult with the price of coffee as low as it is. This situation is foreshadowing an eventual disaster, not only in this specific region, but in places like it around the world, as there are an estimated 25 million coffee farmers in the same situation globally, and they account for 80% of the world’s coffee production. 

This is not the first time Colombia’s coffee industry has gone through an existential event like this one. From 2008-2011, Colombia’s coffee industry was struck with an epidemic of coffee rust, which is a leaf disease caused by the fungus Hemileia vastatrix. This event brought down coffee production by 31% in the country, and weakened food security among many thousands of poor, rural farmers. Thankfully, the epidemic passed, and production resumed to pre-epidemic levels in the few years following. Unfortunately, the effects of climate change are not set to pass, and they are only expected to intensify. This leaves the industry in a very scary situation. One more epidemic or slight hiccup in the regular harvesting of Arabica beans could send hundreds of thousands who occupy the Coffee Axis into starvation and intense poverty, and there is no feasible solution in sight. Along with these severe effects, many who lose their livelihoods will take to growing illicit substances like cocaine that can withstand the temperature increase, or directly participate in the lucrative trade itself. Along with the increase in prices of coffee, this loss would also further increase the production of drugs that harm those in the West. While this situation may seem isolated in its unfortunate conditions, events like this are waiting to happen around the world, and it is important for those who live in developed countries like America to recognize the imminent plight of those who don’t have a large voice.