Susan's Hummingbird Gardens

Shade-Grown Coffee Plant

Why is shade-grown coffee so important to hummingbirds?

The following is an article from nationalzoo.si.org, official website of the Smithsonian National Zoo and the Friends of the National Zoo (FONZ), about shade-grown coffee. We have included this and other articles about shade-grown coffee here at Susan’s Hummingbird Gardens to help spread the message…

What Is Shade-Grown Coffee?

In the time that it takes you to drink your next cup of coffee, acres of tropical forest will be lost. Along with the forest will go the birds and other wildlife that depend on it. Wouldn’t it be gratifying to know that by choosing the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) “Bird Friendly®” seal of approval you’d be helping to conserve wildlife habitat?

“Shade-grown” refers to the way coffee has been traditionally farmed. For generations, coffee shrubs have been planted in the shade of tall trees, making these traditional coffee plantations excellent homes for birds and other forest-dwelling wildlife.

Over the past 30 years, more than half of the traditional shade-grown coffee farms in Latin America have been converted to “sun-coffee” farms to increase production. This newer method entails clearing or thinning the shade trees and growing coffee plants under full or nearly full sun conditions. These changes also demand the use of agrochemicals like synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides to counter the effects of eliminating the shaded agroforestry system.

Unfortunately, scientists believe that the conversion from shade to sun coffee contributes to the decline in numbers of many of our birds that migrate to Latin America.

Impact Beyond Birds

In addition to birds, shade-coffee plantations provide habitat for myriad insects, orchids, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and other less well-known denizens of tropical forests. Furthermore, shade trees provide nutrients and suppress weeds, thus reducing or eliminating the need for chemical fertilizers and herbicides, and lowering farming costs.

Farmers also harvest an  assortment of fruits, firewood, lumber, and medicines from the shade trees. These products make families less vulnerable to coffee price fluctuations on the world market—fluctuations that accompany any cash crop that is also a global commodity.

Why Certified Organic Shade-Grown Coffee?

Sun coffee can generate higher yields and larger profits for farmers. Therefore, there is pressure on coffee farmers to abandon their traditional growing practices. Unless these farmers are able to reap greater short-term economic rewards from traditional coffee cultivation, there is little incentive for them to maintain these large refuges for biodiversity.

Check out What Are The Benefits Of Shade-Grown Coffee?  for more information, especially where you can find “bird friendly” shade-grown coffee.

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