Introduction to the planting methods of the Coffee growing area in El Salvador

A brief History of Coffee production

In 1742, coffee was introduced to El Salvador from the Caribbean (1740).

In the mid-19th century, El Salvador's original export pillar Indigo (one of the dyes) received a gradual decline in the development of synthetic dyes in Europe, and coffee gradually became the main export product under the guidance of the government.

In 1856, the first 693 bags of coffee beans were shipped to Europe. Europe was El Salvador's chief coffee customer until World War II, which was replaced by the United States after World War II.

In the 1970s, El Salvador produced a record 350000 bags of coffee. With the intensification of the civil war, the coffee industry was in turmoil.

Coffee production in El Salvador was once affected by domestic political instability. In 1992, the parties signed a peace agreement and the civil war was suspended. The coffee industry began to recover.

Present situation of coffee production

"natural and man-made disasters" and "ill-fated" are the most appropriate words to describe the challenges facing the coffee industry in El Salvador. Despite the haze of war, El Salvador's coffee production still faces challenges from time to time, including: 1998, hurricanes; 2001, earthquakes; 2002, volcanic eruptions; 2012, leaf rust.

Despite the challenges, El Salvador maintained a high level of coffee production, according to ICO International Coffee Organization, from 2008 to 2012, total coffee production in El Salvador remained at the Top15 level among ICO member countries. In 2013, affected by the leaf rust disaster, 70% of domestic farms were infected, and the output dropped sharply by about 40%, falling to 16 coffee varieties.

The civil war caused chaos and affected economic development, but ironically allowed the ancient coffee to be preserved, and the situation was so chaotic that coffee producers in El Salvador failed to catch up with the renewal of coffee varieties in Central and South America.

El Salvador produces 100% Arabica coffee, of which 68% is Bourbon, Coffea arabica var. Bourbon), 29% Pacas, other varieties including Pacamara,Caturra, etc.

The Pacas variety, first discovered in El Salvador in 1949, is a natural hybrid between bourbon and Catura.

The variety Pacamara, which was artificially bred by pacas and maragogipe (or maragogype), was first bred in 1958 (1954). Pacamara species is a rare artificial breeding of excellent varieties, blue is better than blue, perfectly inheriting the advantages of the mother plant, both the excellent taste of pacas species, raw bean granules also inherited the large size of malagogipe. The Pacamara species is thought to be the result of the pursuit of large Arabica species.

Coffee planting

Most of them are planted by small farmers. Grading of farmers in El Salvador: (1 htct= 105mu = 10000 square meters)

Small farmers, small producer, area less than 7.0hect

Medium-sized peasant household, medium producer, area between 7. 0-70hect

Large farmers, large producer, the area is larger than 70hect.

Farmers use traditional planting methods, with almost 100% shade planting