Study on Agricultural Ecology of Coffee in Mexico and Dignity of Organic Coffee Farmers in Mexico

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In 1867, coffee rust (coffee rust) broke out in Ceylon, destroying the coffee kingdom established by the British Empire, and the British switched to tea. In 1877, coffee rust also broke out in Indonesia, changing the local habit of growing "Arabica" coffee to "Robusta" coffee. However, 100 years later, coffee rust came to the New World, where it did not cause serious harm to coffee production.

Why is that? Professor John Vandermeer, who studies agroecology at Finca Irlanda, the world's first organically certified Mexican organic coffee farm, thinks his team has the answer.

On farms, must chemicals be used in order to effectively control diseases and insect pests? If we look at "diseases and insect pests" from the perspective of biodiversity, what are the different implications for us? What is the ecological significance of the interaction between these species to explain the absence of outbreaks of coffee rust, green shell beetle (green coffee scale) and coffee fruit beetle (coffee berry borer)? After further research, John Vandermeer's team concluded that the interaction of a species of flea fly (phorid fly), ladybug, ant and fungus with coffee rust, green beetle and coffee fruit beetle provides a reasonable explanation.

In addition, organic coffee production accounts for 1.5% of the global coffee market; this figure also represents the story of small farmers living with dignity in many third world countries. In the coffee market, Fairtrade has a lot to do with organic coffee. 80% of the world's organic coffee is also Fairtrade coffee.

In addition to Finca Irlanda, southern Mexico, has always been the poorest province Chiapas is the best representative of ecological and social justice. Mexico, the world's largest producer of organic coffee, produces about 18.9% organic coffee. Chiapas, the most remote province in the south, has always been one of the poorest and vulnerable provinces in the country and is also an indigenous area. Chiapas alone accounts for 53.5% of the country's organic coffee production. In addition, most of the tens of thousands of tons of coffee beans harvested in Mexico each year come from the cultivation of indigenous small farmers. Small farmers' coffee combines organic, biodiversity and fair trade, and behind it is the moving story of the gathering of small farmers in the ups and downs of the international market. The cooperative system and the collective certification system for small farmers provide another way to survive for ecological and social justice.