Related
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
From CATIE and Coffee Watch
Turrialba, Costa Rica, 19 January 2026 – Today marks the launch of the Coffee Agroforestry E-Library, the world’s first comprehensive online database dedicated to scientific literature on shade-grown coffee, also known as agroforestry. This new resource brings together decades of research from languages and countries around the world into one accessible platform, empowering farmers, companies, NGOs, policymakers, and researchers to advance sustainable shade-grown coffee production.
Agroforestry – the integration of shade trees and diverse crops into coffee farms and landscapes – is widely recognized as a cornerstone of climate resilience, carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation. It is also crucial for improving farmer livelihoods through mixing coffee with income diversification and food security trees.
Yet until now, the scientific evidence supporting best practice in shade-grown coffee, and knowledge about what works and what doesn’t, has been scattered across journals, institutions, and regions.
The Coffee Agroforestry E-Library consolidates in an open-access database all this knowledge, offering a one-stop hub for evidence-based decision-making. It will be a vital resource for industry and governments.
The E-Library includes peer-reviewed scientific studies, technical reports, and manuals covering:
- Climate change adaptation and carbon sequestration in coffee systems
- Biodiversity benefits of shade-grown coffee
- Farmer income diversification and food security through agroforestry
- Soil health, water conservation, and soil moisture
- Policy frameworks and certification approaches supporting agroforestry
“This e-library is a game-changer for the coffee sector,” said Etelle Higonnet, Director of Coffee Watch. “By making the science accessible, we can accelerate the transition to coffee landscapes that are shade-grown, climate-resilient, and farmer-centered.” The Coffee Agroforestry E-Library is freely available online and designed to grow over time, with new research continuously added. “It aims to serve as a living knowledge base for all stakeholders committed to transforming coffee into a driver of sustainability.
“Anyone who wants to grow, sell, buy, or drink sustainable coffee should read the library.” said Eduardo Somarriba of the Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE), who oversaw the development of the E-Library. “It was created to support evidence-based action in the coffee sector, helping stakeholders design shade-grown coffee policies, programs, and practices that retain and even increase tree cover in farms and agricultural landscapes, empower farmers, and build climate resilience. Scientists say half of global coffee will vanish by 2050 if we don’t make major strides towards climate-proofing our coffee. If we want to save coffee from climate change, agroforestry is a crucial solution – and this E-Library explains everything you need to know about it.”
Contact: Etelle Higonnet, Coffee Watch, info@coffeewatch.org
Check out the coffee agroforestry database in Zotero here.
Find the summary of the methodology and strategy for the construction of the database and the summary of its content (only in English) here.
Photo credit: CATIE.