THE IMPORTANCE OF IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF ARABICA COFFEE FOR THE SUSTAINABILITY OF FARMS

Abstract

Coffee growing is one of the most important agricultural activities in the State of Espírito Santo, which, on the national scene, ranks as the second largest coffee producer in Brazil, cultivating arabica (Coffea arabica) and robusta or conilon (Coffea canephora) coffee species. For the production of specialty coffees, principles based on sustainable development, with indicators in the economic, environmental, and social axes, should be encouraged, in order to enable more people, including young ones, to stay in the countryside and to improve the quality of life of rural families. Despite its extreme importance, the assessment of sustainability in coffee growing is still a significant challenge due to the complexity of the aspects involved. Carrying out a sustainability assessment offers an analytical framework, identifying problems and assisting in the targeted planning of strategies that improve the sustainable performance of properties. This study aims to present the importance of sustainable coffee growing, including
improving the quality of coffee, in order to increase the quality of life on agricultural properties. We found that several interventions are necessary for adapting coffee-producing properties to the principles of sustainability, mainly related to economic, environmental, and social criteria, which may be offered through technical assistance to farmers. Interventions tend to increase the production of specialty coffees, making them suitable for third-party certification and export of specialty coffees to new markets, adding value to the beans. In this way, it will be possible to add income to the rural property, to increase the quality of life of the family of farmers and their partners, as well as higher investments in environmental preservation.