Guatemala Declares National Coffee Emergency

by **RapidCoffee** on Fri Feb 08, 2013 11:52 pm

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wir...y-18445643

ABC News wrote:Guatemala's president declared a national emergency Friday over the spread of coffee rust, saying the fungus that has hit other Central American countries is affecting 70 percent of this nation's crop.

President Otto Molina Perez ordered the release of more than $14 million to aid coffee growers. He said the funds would help 60,000 small farmers buy pesticides and also finance instruction to teach them how to prevent the disease and stop it from spreading.

"If we don't take the needed measures, in 2013-2014 our production could drop by 40 percent," Molina said in making his country the third in the region to decree emergencies in recent weeks.

(cont'd)

by **Burner0000** on Tue Feb 12, 2013 9:47 am

No way....

by **kboom1** on Sun Feb 17, 2013 11:31 pm

ohno- less coffee means higher$$

by **ex trahere** on Mon Feb 18, 2013 2:04 pm

Yikes.

by **Marshall** on Mon Feb 18, 2013 2:29 pm

The leaf rust ("roja") infestation extends far beyond Guatemala and is devastating Central American coffee. It is probably the single biggest crisis currently faced by specialty coffee. Good piece by Peter Giuliano here with links to actions being taken by the coffee industry: http://petergiuliano.tumblr.com (Feb. 16, 2013).

by **Intrepid510** on Sat Apr 13, 2013 11:43 pm

How bad is this? And is this something that will continue on, you hear this and you think okay it stinks but it'll be okay.

https://store.templecoffee.com/blog/roy...emala.html

by **Marshall** on Sun Apr 14, 2013 7:12 am

Intrepid510 wrote:How bad is this? And is this something that will continue on, you hear this and you think okay it stinks but it'll be okay.

https://store.templecoffee.com/blog/roy...emala.html

Very bad. More here in Sherman's report from SCAA in Boston and my response: SCAA 2013 Reports

by **coryforsenate** on Thu Apr 18, 2013 1:55 pm

I imagine this is going to hurt organic growers even harder.

by **Marshall** on Thu Apr 18, 2013 2:07 pm

coryforsenate wrote:I imagine this is going to hurt organic growers even harder.

Definitely. This was specifically addressed at the Boston SCAA Symposium last week. Copper appears to be the most effective fungicide for leaf rust, but is incompatible with organic certification. Affected growers may need to choose between giving up organic certification or giving up coffee.

In the long term, cross-breeding for more disease-resistant (and good-tasting) hybrids is already under way, but will probably take years. A fundamental problem throughout the coffee growing world is an extraordinary lack of genetic diversity in the varieties currently cultivated. Hundreds, if not thousands, of other varieties exist (more in Madagascar than anywhere else!), but few are suitable for a good cup of coffee. The search is under way. See http://worldcoffeeresearch.org/.

by **espressojr** on Thu Apr 18, 2013 2:19 pm

kboom1 wrote:ohno- less coffee means higher$$

I imagine most of us could absorb this without too much of a worry... the coffee growers on the other hand :cry:


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