South Sudan farmers pin hopes on rare climate-resistant coffee

Catherine Bashiama runs her fingers along the branches of the coffee tree she has nurtured from a seedling, anxiously searching for its first fruit buds since planting it three years ago. When she finds the small cherries, Bashiama beams with pride.

The farmer had never grown coffee in her village in western South Sudan but now hopes that a rare climate-resistant variety will help lift her family out of poverty.

“I want to send my children to school so they can become the future generation,” said Bashiama, a mother of 12.

Excelsa coffee, discovered more than a century ago in South Sudan, is exciting cash-strapped locals and drawing international attention amid a global coffee crisis largely driven by climate change. As major coffee-producing countries face challenges in cultivating crops due to increasingly erratic weather, prices have surged to their highest levels in decades, and the industry is scrambling for solutions.

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Experts estimated that Brazil, the world’s largest coffee producer, could see a 12 percent drop in this year’s harvest due to drought.

“What history shows us is that sometimes the world doesn’t give you a choice, and right now, many coffee farmers are suffering from the effects of climate change,” said Aaron Davis, head of coffee research at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London.

Excelsa could play a pivotal role in adapting to these challenges.

Native to South Sudan and a handful of other African countries, including the Central African Republic and Uganda, excelsa is also cultivated in India, Indonesia and Vietnam. Its deep roots, thick, leathery leaves and large trunk enable it to thrive in extreme conditions such as drought and heat, in which other coffee varieties fail. It is also resistant to many common coffee pests and diseases.

However, excelsa makes up less than 1 percent of the global market, far behind arabica and robusta, the two most widely consumed coffee species. Experts believe excelsa must prove its practicality on a larger scale to help fill the market gap created by climate change.

For now, though, it represents a chance at a better future for locals.

Bashiama said she began planting coffee after her husband was injured and unable to help cultivate enough maize and groundnuts to sustain the family. Since the accident, she has struggled to afford her children’s school fees or buy sufficient food.

Another farmer, 37-year-old Taban John, hopes to use his coffee earnings to buy a bicycle, making it easier to sell his other crops, including groundnuts and cassava, in town. He also wants to afford school uniforms for his children.

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Community leaders see excelsa as an opportunity for financial independence. They note that people often rely on government or foreign aid, but when that support is not forthcoming, they struggle to care for their families.

But for coffee to truly thrive in South Sudan, locals say a long-term mentality is needed – and that requires stability.

Elia Box lost half of his coffee crop to a fire in early February. Although he plans to replace it, he is discouraged by the effort involved and the lack of law and order to hold people accountable.

“People aren’t thinking long-term when it comes to crops like coffee, especially during war,” he said. “Coffee needs peace.”