Building a climate resilient Robusta coffee agroforestry system in Uganda: a research perspective

Climate change may impose severe challenges to coffee farmers to maintain agricultural production levels especially in smallholder farmers, who produce 90% Uganda’s coffee. In Uganda, Robusta coffee, which accounts for 80% of the total coffee production is predicted to be significantly affected. Climate adaptation and mitigation measures are required to moderate some of the worst predicted scenarios. Agroforestry has been highlighted as a cost-effective and sustainable strategy for modulating the effects of climate change in coffee farms given its contribution to carbon sequestration, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, diversification of tree and forest products, and reduction in the susceptibility of land-use systems to extreme weather events, among others. However, various research gaps need to be addressed, for deriving optimal benefits from agroforestry for climate change adaptation and mitigation in coffee. Paradoxically, while nearly all Robusta coffee is historically conducted using agroforestry methods, the growing negative view of the role of trees, especially the possibility of shade tree species serving as a reservoir for pests calls for concerted research efforts to guide the promotion of agroforestry methods to curb the development of monocultures. The review, therefore, highlights; (i) current knowledge relating to agroforestry tree choice, (ii) knowledge on above/below-ground interactions between trees and Robusta coffee from plot to landscape scales, and (iii) research areas that need to be addressed for building climate resilient Robusta coffee agroforestry (CAF) systems. Selecting appropriate agroforestry tree species and managing above and below-ground resources appear to be key factors for optimizing Robusta coffee production, but most of the information is missing in the context of Uganda’s Robusta coffee-agroforestry systems. In the face of climate change that is likely to affect the biophysical environments and social structures, approaching the research activities through living laboratories, to collaboratively co-create, develop, and test new technologies, products and services in real-life environments could yield more practical solutions.