Due to the continuous depletion of the planet, the current economic and production models will have substantial changes in the coming years due to the need to take care of the planet and the growing awareness of consumers and their desire to collaborate in this regard.
The coffee production model as a monoculture could have its days numbered in Latin America because it requires a large amount of labor, it is currently undercapitalized, the crops are old, they are exhausted, and the plantations are sick, there are economic problems in most of the countries of the region, a strong migration to the countries of the north of the continent that originates a geopolitical destabilization of importance.
If we describe sustainability, perhaps in a somewhat simplified way as a biological system that can conserve diversity and productivity over time, including improving those conditions of diversity and productivity, perhaps we should consider an alternative model for these countries in terms of coffee. refers.

A possible approach that does not apply to all, but if to many communities it would be the abandonment of the current vision of cultivation, why cultivate coffee if there is no profitable market? Only the barriers to going out of business are very great.
Generally in Latin America, the coffee growing regions are in remote areas, very isolated and with very difficult access; The economy is focused on the cultivation of coffee because in years past, it was a prosperous, profitable and enriching crop that one does not want to lose in the hope that one day it will return to the old days and generate an income multiplier effect in the zone as it happened before.

Also these mountainous areas with difficult access by land are generally privileged in terms of climate and water conditions, so why not think about community development and nutrition rather than offering coffee to international markets saturated with supply, as has always been done.

The idea is not new and has been put into practice at isolated levels with great success, the great limitation is the transmission of knowledge on how to do it, since highly trained specialists and government support are required to generate and transmit knowledge, which many times it is adverse to the political interests of dependency and manipulation, for me that is the center of the problem to be solved.

With the prevailing conditions in most of the isolated areas of these countries, bio-dynamic, sustainable crops can be started, changing the purpose of work from producing coffee for the world to producing healthy food for regional consumption along with a more moderate coffee production. better quality and less dependent on the outside.
The idea begins with the design of vegetable production areas for local consumption on terraces with standard measures of 5 meters long by meter and a half wide, leaving 1 and a half meter corridors between the orchards; this measurement must be repeated exactly because the chicken coops will also be of this same measurement,
The earth must be seen in its proper dimension, as a living ecosystem that requires nutrition and management conditions to stay healthy, it is this relationship between mineral balance of nutrients, water and aeration that keeps the organisms alive that give sustainability to everything the project.
All available vegetables are used to form compostable material that must be added to the soil to improve its vigor.

The vegetables that are planted must be oriented primarily to local consumption since they may not be competitive at global market prices, but since they do not need to move from the cities to the most remote points of consumption as occurs with commodities that substantially increase their cost. , these are viable to grow
If the plots and rotary crops are well designed, the soil will be enriched and the humidity, aeration and health of the microorganisms and organisms that live in it will improve, generating conditions for a good development of edible plants and vegetables, in this way, they have been successfully planted up to forty varieties of vegetables in coffee-growing areas, including cereals, legumes, oilseeds, fruits and various vegetables; It has also been possible to integrate chicken coops to control the appearance of insects and animals that are harmful to crops, in addition to generating eggs, meat and supplying nitrogen to the soil due to the accumulation of detritus.

Regarding coffee plantations, these must be carefully planned in areas where exact streets and terraces can be built to be able to maneuver with small tractors for plowing and soil management, cover crops must be managed to avoid the appearance of harmful weeds by contributing nitrogen to the soil and Avoiding erosion by water dragging or excessive evaporation and optimizing the overall work to make it profitable, this type of cultivation does not require agrochemicals or pesticides from outside.

Sustainable coffee production in Mexico under the proposed model

The production and management of the coffee plantation can be organic, planning the correct density with shade trees that provide nitrogen to the soil and at the same time avoid overproduction of the coffee tree, mitigate excess heat, give stability to production over the years and avoid phenomena like bi-annuity. It must be remembered that the primary objective is to feed the community and that coffee only generates some surpluses for the purchase of complementary goods to food such as clothing, gasoline, construction material and tools, since it has been proven that, with management adequate land plots, families can live for years feeding themselves healthy and adequately without dependence on the outside. Due to the rotation of crops, a more efficient control of pests and diseases is maintained because in many cases the cycles of appearance and life of these are broken; Likewise, coffee plantations with traditional varieties get sick less if they are young and well nourished, which frequently happens on healthy, well-composted land that is free of agrochemicals; For rust, Bordelés broth in a preventive way and a lot of supervision have been effective for its control on more than one occasion.

Less dependence on foreign communities, taking advantage of isolation, better land management and rational coffee production followed by more efficient processing in terms of quality, will allow a more efficient participation in the near future for those producers. with vision and desire to work.

What is required is governmental or even international support to disseminate these proven ideas in order to mitigate economic effects and reduce migration to more developed countries, avoiding the creation of new problems of opportunity for the inhabitants of these communities; The rational use of water, soil and adequate nutrition at the regional level is the answer to the international coffee price crisis.