We know that climate change has significant consequences in the countryside, especially in coffee plantations. Thus, one of the great concerns of coffee growers is to be able to produce in the midst of adverse conditions. Today, having technological and innovative solutions in farming is a way to ensure productivity.
During the year 2022, Brazilian coffee growers faced a reduction in production levels, due to a series of adversities in the climate, such as frost. Those who managed to overcome these problems had previously invested in equipment and services that improve resource use and crop management.
Farmer Edélcio Natan is one such example. He has an irrigation system and solar power plant to optimize production on his properties. Owner of Fazenda Arara and Fazenda 2 Irmãos – located in the Minas Gerais cities of São Gonçalo do Sapucaí and Cristais, respectively – he has been a Valley customer for 19 years. “I am very satisfied with the results obtained in the irrigated fields, the central pivot helps a lot!”, said the producer.
On Edélcio’s farms, coffee, potatoes and corn are cultivated, with emphasis on the first two crops. The irrigated coffee plantation has 300 hectares (ha) and, in 2022, production reached 60 bags per ha, a much higher value than the rainfed one. With regard to potatoes, production was 1,100 bags of 50 kg per ha, with two irrigated areas, 85 and 30 ha. In all, the properties have eight center pivots.
The love for rural life and the constant goal of producing food for the population is what drives Edélcio. “I see the land as the beginning of everything that exists in humanity. My history in agribusiness came about through my father, who had a small cattle ranch. I followed him since I was a little boy and took a liking to the field. , Natan Silveira and Davi Natan, as they already have what it takes to start, so it will be easier to continue.”
For the future, the expansion of the irrigation system is already in the company’s planning. Soon, two more pivots will be installed on a third farm, located in the city of Pouso Alegre (MG).
Biggest producer
According to the 4th Survey of the 2022 Coffee Crop, made available by the National Supply Company (Conab), Minas Gerais (MG) continued to be the largest producer of the grain, exceeding 22 million bags of processed coffee. Behind came Espírito Santo, the second largest coffee producer in the country, with a production of 16.7 million bags.
Minas is responsible for more than half of the national crop, with a cultivated area of around 1 million hectares. According to the Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Company of the State of Minas Gerais (Emater/MG), coffees in the state are distinguished by the diversity of flavor and aroma, mainly due to the 11 variations of climate, altitude and production systems.
Still according to Emater-MG, among the challenges and propositions of coffee production is to maintain efficiency in the use of natural resources, water and soil.