Three-tiered ecological coffee garden

Coffee plantations now have trees of varying heights, creating different layers of foliage. This serves to provide shade from wind and dew, and partially block excessive sunlight, thus altering the microclimate to benefit the coffee plants. Therefore, even without intercropping, it is widely believed that this is more advantageous than a monoculture coffee plantation.

According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, although coffee prices have not been very attractive in recent years, fluctuating only between 36,000 and 40,000 VND/kg, farmers have not abandoned their land as is the case with some other crops. On the contrary, the area under coffee cultivation has steadily increased. For example, by 2020, in the Central Highlands region alone, the coffee area reached 639,000 hectares, an increase of 138,300 hectares compared to 2010 (26.1%), and coffee yield also increased to 28 quintals/hectare (a 25.5% increase compared to 2010).

Thanks to this, in 2020 Vietnam supplied the world coffee market with 1.642 million tons, and in 2022, 1.77 million tons, still ranking second after Brazil. Also as of 2020, 14,856 hectares had been replanted and grafted, and farmers had integrated coffee cultivation into intercropping on 138,100 hectares (accounting for 21.5%) of the total coffee area in the region.

When discussing with several farmers, many expressed the opinion that intercropping agricultural crops in coffee plantations does not require additional labor compared to traditional techniques and is beneficial because it provides a stable additional income, especially in years when coffee prices fall. According to the coffee cultivation technical package, when planting new coffee trees, farmers must design rows of forestry trees to act as windbreaks. Finding enough windbreak trees is both labor-intensive and costly to transport, without providing the additional income that intercropping with agricultural crops offers. Intercropping also does not require additional fertilizer, irrigation, or other maintenance activities.

Therefore, intercropping in coffee plantations is a technical measure that has been widely embraced by farmers. Word spread quickly, and the news that intercropping in coffee plantations brings high economic efficiency not only spread rapidly in the Central Highlands but also to many other regions.

The author of this article also had the opportunity to visit another coffee plantation belonging to Mr. Tran Van Dinh. He left his hometown of Binh Dinh at a young age and moved with his family to settle in Hamlet 8, Nghia Trung Commune, Bu Dang District, Binh Phuoc Province. Initially, due to a lack of experience in farming and limited coffee cultivation techniques, his family faced many hardships. When he started his own family, he was given 3 hectares of land as a means of production to support himself. Although he lacked education in his childhood, thanks to his hard work, he accumulated some experience and learned how to manage his finances. Gradually, he accumulated some capital and acquired an additional 3.5 hectares of land. Therefore, his assets and business capital now amount to 6.5 hectares of farmland, divided into two areas.

Initially, he only grew coffee, but later, following the advice of agricultural extension workers, he intercropped it with cashew trees, providing shade and additional income. During years when coffee prices fell while pepper prices rose to an attractive level, many households cut down their coffee plants to grow pepper. However, he felt it was a waste to abandon his coffee plants because they were still thriving, so he only intercropped pepper in his coffee plantation.

So now, his 4-hectare coffee plantation has three types of plants: 2,800 coffee trees, including 1,800 newly planted grafted trees and 1,000 trees that he himself learned to graft and improve. He searched everywhere and finally found a place selling grafting scions to improve his coffee plantation. Thus, on the 4 hectares that were originally planted solely with coffee, there are now 360 cashew trees, 200 pepper plants, and 2,800 grafted coffee trees. So, from a coffee plantation planted solely with cashew trees, his plantation now has three distinct ecological layers.

The shade trees with wide canopies are cashew trees, while the shade trees with narrow canopies are pepper and coffee plants, nestled under the shade of the pepper and cashew trees. Roughly speaking, each intercropped cashew crop yields 8.5 tons of nuts in a bad year and 10-11 tons in a good year. Now, the cashew trees are supporting the pepper and coffee plants. However, his coffee plantation, less than 3 years old, has already yielded 6 tons of coffee beans, averaging 1.5 tons per hectare of just over 900 trees. The pepper plants, less than 30 months old, are also bearing fruit. Looking at the entire plantation, all three types of plants are thriving. He estimates that with the current size of the trees, the pepper plants will soon yield at least 5 kg per plant and the coffee plants at least 4 tons per hectare.

When asked where he got the idea to build a three-tiered ecological system like this, he confidently replied that, despite his limited education, he learned from mass media, agricultural extension services, and even agricultural supply dealers.

In addition, in recent years, officials from Binh Dien Fertilizer Joint Stock Company have frequently visited to advise on fertilizer use, which has led to this model. He said that although the garden has only three plants, he only needs to fertilize the coffee and pepper plants, while the cashew trees benefit from the fertilizer of the other two. Therefore, the amount of fertilizer consumed is not much. He only fertilizes the three plants twice with Dau Trau fertilizer, about 400g per plant, and the pepper plants are the same. During the rainy season, he uses Dau Trau NPK 16-16-8 fertilizer, applying about 300 kg/ha each time, 4-5 times a year for the entire 4 hectares.

Thus, compared to monoculture coffee or pepper, intercropping requires less fertilizer and less labor for fertilizing and weeding. Pointing to the coffee plant, he said: "You see, the base of the coffee plant is covered with a thick layer of dry leaves, and the garden is well shaded, so the soil evaporates less, but it's also well-ventilated, so there are fewer pests and diseases."

Occasionally, the coffee plants experience problems like dried fruit clusters, dry branches, or scattered mealybug infestations. However, these are all minor pests and diseases, so chemical pesticides are rarely used. With this model, he said he doesn't fear crop failure. While coffee and pepper prices are low, cashew trees are fetching good prices. The trees support each other, so he doesn't lose anything, and management is convenient. Every time he waters the coffee and pepper plants, the cashew trees also benefit. Perhaps that's why his cashew trees are so vigorous and produce so much fruit: 24 to 30 kg of nuts per tree per season.

That's the model for the 4 hectares near home, but what about the 2.5 hectares further away? He confidently replied, "There, we also intercrop cashew and durian trees with coffee. Although there are three types of trees, it only creates two ecological layers. However, the harvested products are still all three, with durian rarely experiencing price drops and cashew trees becoming increasingly popular, so his family's economy remains sustainable." That's the advantage of intercropping coffee in a three-layered ecological system.

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/vuon-ca-phe-3-tang-sinh-thai-post683114.html