{"id":25880,"date":"2019-12-22T10:29:31","date_gmt":"2019-12-22T10:29:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/?p=25880"},"modified":"2019-12-22T11:06:32","modified_gmt":"2019-12-22T11:06:32","slug":"the-best-coffee-of-the-year-is-from-syntropic-agriculture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/en\/the-best-coffee-of-the-year-is-from-syntropic-agriculture\/","title":{"rendered":"The best coffee of the year is from Syntropic Agriculture"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"min-height: 30px;\"><input id=\"25880\" style=\"float: left;max-width: 50px;\" src=\"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-advanced-pdf\/asset\/images\/pdf.png\" alt=\"#TB_inline?height=230&amp;width=400&amp;inlineId=examplePopup1\" title=\"Export pdf to your Email\" class=\"thickbox export-pdf\" type=\"image\" value=\"Export to PDF\" \/><\/div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1000\" height=\"666\" src=\"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-event-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25916\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-event-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-event-1-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-event-1-370x246.jpg 370w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-event-1-270x180.jpg 270w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-event-1-570x380.jpg 570w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-event-1-751x500.jpg 751w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-event-1-740x493.jpg 740w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption>Belo Horizonte_MG, 21 novembro de 2019\\n\\nSIC &#8211; Semana Internacional do Cafe\\n\\nImagem: Gustavo Baxter \/ NITRO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Among 500 coffee samples from 20 Brazilian regions, the coffee from producer Wilians Val\u00e9rio, from\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sitiorecantodostucanos.com.br\/\" target=\"_blank\">Recanto dos Tucanos<\/a><g class=\"gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"5\" data-gr-id=\"5\"> received<\/g> the\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/semanainternacionaldocafe.com.br\/br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Resultado-COY-2019-Siglas-Finais.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Best Coffee of the Year 2019 award<\/a>. The contest is one of the most important in the Brazilian scenario and the selection featured a number of phases that included expert appreciation (arabica coffee\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.coffeeinstitute.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Q-Graders<\/a>), cupping tables, blind tasting tests <g class=\"gr_ gr_6 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"6\" data-gr-id=\"6\">and<\/g> public voting. At the moment of the final announcement, the Recanto dos Tucanos team took the stage, carrying syntropic agriculture&#8217;s name and also a beautiful story that lays behind this champion coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-instagram wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/B5D9Vn_ABNk\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"12\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/B5D9Vn_ABNk\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> <div style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div><div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\"> View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/a> <p style=\" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/B5D9Vn_ABNk\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;\" target=\"_blank\">\u00c1gua se Planta !  Aguardamos voc\u00ea  para na SIC nos dias 20 \u00e0  22 de novembro na Expominas  em Belo Horizonte , no stander de Alto Capara\u00f3.@revistaespresso@wiliansvaleriojunior @valeriowilians #sintropia@eudson<\/a><\/p> <p style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">A post shared by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/caferecantodostucanos\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px;\" target=\"_blank\"> Caf\u00e9s Recanto Dos Tucanos<\/a> (@caferecantodostucanos) on <time style=\" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;\" datetime=\"2019-11-19T21:20:05+00:00\">Nov 19, 2019 at 1:20pm PST<\/time><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script>\n<\/div><figcaption>The Recanto dos Tucanos Coffee was rated with a score above 88.3 during the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/semanainternacionaldocafe.com.br\/br\/\">International Coffee Week<\/a>, which took place in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais \/ Brazil.&nbsp;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We talked to Wilians Val\u00e9rio J\u00fanior who is today the head of the Recanto dos Tucanos plantations, following his father&#8217;s footsteps. The history of the area is a very representative example of how an established coffee plantation can go through a transition to incorporate syntropic agriculture consortia and management principles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><g class=\"gr_ gr_12 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"12\" data-gr-id=\"12\">WILIANS<\/g>: My father bought this ranch when I was ten years old. There was an area with 3,000 coffee trees and there was also some pastureland. He planted coffee everywhere. But, unfortunately, the price for the commodity was a challenge impossible to overcome. There was no market for special coffee at that time, so the cultivation was not worth it. Eventually, my dad gave up. He cut down all the coffee trees and planted fruits: pear, peach and olive. He kept cutting all the coffee sprouts to let the fruits grow.\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-shade-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25904\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-shade-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-shade-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-shade-370x278.jpeg 370w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-shade-270x203.jpeg 270w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-shade-570x428.jpeg 570w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-shade-667x500.jpeg 667w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-shade-740x555.jpeg 740w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-shade-80x60.jpeg 80w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-shade.jpeg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>The Ranch is located at 1,300m altitude, in the municipality of Alto Capara\u00f3 \/ MG. The region, near Capara\u00f3 National Park, has been distinguished by the production of specialty coffees.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We also interviewed <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"R\u00f4mulo Ara\u00fajo (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/136423275\" target=\"_blank\">R\u00f4mulo Ara\u00fajo<\/a>, agronomist, a friend of Recanto dos Tucano\u2019s team and also a consultant of the ranch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>R\u00d4MULO: <\/strong>The ecosystem is an Altitude Atlantic Forest. There are some Araucaria <g class=\"gr_ gr_9 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"9\" data-gr-id=\"9\">angustifolia<\/g>, Plinia <g class=\"gr_ gr_10 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling\" id=\"10\" data-gr-id=\"10\">cauliflora<\/g>, Euterpe edulis, Inga edulis, all of it growing in the surrounding. The place is very beautiful and <g class=\"gr_ gr_8 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"8\" data-gr-id=\"8\">Wilians<\/g>\u2019 father plantation made the place even more beautiful: pear, peach, apple, quince, olive. His father is a very good farmer, everything he takes care of prospers beautifully.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Given the situation of commodity market of coffee and its price volatility, Willians\u2019 father made the bold decision to change his main culture. Like a good farmer, he followed his instincts and invested in diversified fruit growing. By keeping the coffee trees pruned, Wilians\u2019 father created the opportunity for the new trees to settle, synchronizing the growth of the entire system without eliminating the initial coffee trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><g class=\"gr_ gr_3 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"3\" data-gr-id=\"3\"><strong>WILIANS<\/strong><\/g>: 40 years later, that is the area where I started to manage with syntropic agriculture and today the coffee that I am harvesting is from there.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>R\u00d4MULO: When Wilians started taking care of the coffee with his father, they let those trees do sprout. These coffees came back beautifully under the fruit trees. The pear in the emergent stratum, the olive in the <g class=\"gr_ gr_11 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"11\" data-gr-id=\"11\">upper-<\/g><g class=\"gr_ gr_11 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace gr-progress\" id=\"11\" data-gr-id=\"11\">middle<\/g> stratum, the peach in the middle stratum. There were many things <g class=\"gr_ gr_15 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"15\" data-gr-id=\"15\">spread out, but without an intentional stratification design. They did some thinning<\/g>, but the bottleneck was still the production of organic matter within the areas. They didn\u2019t predict any plantation between the main crops to be mowed and used to feed the trees. The big challenge of this transition, therefore, is to take a coffee plantation already established and produce biomass in the middle. Today we are putting a lot of banana trees in the middle of the coffee trees, in order to cut them and supply the system with biomass.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1015\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-banana-2-1015x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25903\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-banana-2-1015x1024.jpg 1015w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-banana-2-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-banana-2-768x774.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-banana-2-370x373.jpg 370w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-banana-2-270x272.jpg 270w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-banana-2-570x575.jpg 570w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-banana-2-496x500.jpg 496w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-banana-2-740x746.jpg 740w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-banana-2.jpg 1190w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1015px) 100vw, 1015px\" \/><figcaption>Biomass production to feed the coffee trees<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2>COFFEE IN THE WORLD<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Coffee is an important crop worldwide, with a production of about 9 million tons per year. Near&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/oxfordre.com\/environmentalscience\/environmentalscience\/view\/10.1093\/acrefore\/9780199389414.001.0001\/acrefore-9780199389414-e-224\">125 million people in Latin America, Africa and Asia<\/a> depend on this crop for their subsistence. Forty years after the price instability experienced by Wilians\u2019 father, the ups and downs of the market continue to haunt coffee farmers around the world &#8211; a condition that now is aggravated by input prices that are rising, higher incidence of pests and diseases, more frequent droughts and irregular rainfall and climate patterns. On the other hand, the demand for specialty coffee indicates a potential expansion of crops that value the quality of the final product. So, it turns out that the central question is: what is the ideal condition for coffee production? For Ernst G\u00f6tsch, coffee occurs naturally and originally in \u201csemi-deciduous forests\u201d and, therefore, these conditions are the ones we must replicate in our agro-eco-systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>ERNST G\u00d6TSCH: The coffee is from semi-deciduous forests.\u00a0Semicaducifolia because it is a forest in which mainly the species that make up the canopy and emerging strata partially lose their leaves. Disturbance forests are forests of abundance, that is, they become forests of abundance and each disturbance event results in the rejuvenation and repetition of the work of the species that grow there. There are many species that are typical of disturbance: in the Americas, we have Spondias mombin, certain types of bombacaceae as well, peach palm and Euterpe edulis for example. We can induce this disturbance dynamics.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Plants classified by Ernst G\u00f6tsch as typical of disturbed forests are those which in their original condition are naturally subject to <g class=\"gr_ gr_7 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"7\" data-gr-id=\"7\">constant<\/g> disturbances caused by winds, hurricanes, etc. Cocoa would be another important example &#8211; we already talked about it&nbsp;<g class=\"gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace\" id=\"5\" data-gr-id=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/pt\/pruning-instead-of-fertilizers-and-irrigation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">here<\/a> and<\/g><a href=\"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/pt\/what-makes-ernsts-cacao-a-premium-product\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\"> here<\/a>. The reproduction of this dynamic of disturbances within the syntropic plantations happens fundamentally through pruning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>ERNST G\u00d6TSCH: I plant, for example, coffee with Inga, or with mango or jackfruit trees or other fast-growing species. It can also be with Spondias purpurea, Spondias tuberosa etc. While these trees are growing, I harvest the cassava, which itself is a minor disturbance, just as when I remove the pineapple or prune the Cajanus cajan. When Ingas, jackfruit, mango and the citrus tree grow, at that moment happens an excellent effect on the coffee. But 2 or 3 years later, the farmer comes to the conclusion that his productivity is going downhill.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Shaded coffee production is not exactly new. Traditionally, <a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/scholar?hl=en&amp;as_sdt=0%2C5&amp;q=shaded+coffee&amp;btnG=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">shaded crops<\/a> have always been practiced, especially in northern Latin America. Despite the recognized ecological advantages, this method is generally associated with low productivity. For Ernst G\u00f6tsch, this effect is mainly related to the aging of the system as a whole.\u00a0But, this obstacle can be overcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1022\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffe-consortia-1022x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25901\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffe-consortia-1022x1024.jpg 1022w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffe-consortia-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffe-consortia-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffe-consortia-768x769.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffe-consortia-370x371.jpg 370w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffe-consortia-270x270.jpg 270w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffe-consortia-570x571.jpg 570w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffe-consortia-499x500.jpg 499w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffe-consortia-740x741.jpg 740w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffe-consortia.jpg 1191w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1022px) 100vw, 1022px\" \/><figcaption>high density and biodiversity consortium<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>ERNST G\u00d6TSCH: When this happens, the farmer has to learn, as I had to learn, to prune this system. With pruning, this system will have a lot of organic matter, not only from the fall of the leaves, but also a lot of material from wood, a lot of wood pruned &#8211; and the species mentioned are very good because they can handle pruning very well. The farmer has to do this pruning at a very specific time that is almost together with the harvest &#8211; it would be in May here on our subcontinent. At that moment he makes a strong pruning, if he has peach palm he takes the excess, prunes the Ingas, if there are many Carinianas, they have to be pruned too. This brings luminosity, mimicking the phase in which every tree from the canopy and emerging strata loses their leaves. Then also, at that moment, all the banana trees are cut down letting just some suckers. So, all the trees start to sprout again, in the middle of the drought season, in the short-day period, both respiration and evaporation are much smaller. At the same time, there is a very strong growth that causes the vegetation itself to drink water from the atmosphere and the organic matter in the ground retains water, protects it from evaporating, and the fungi, that will develop, also drink water from the atmosphere. Then there will be strong growth. Thus, there is a super-strong growth in the winter, that is, atypical for an accumulation system, and atypical anyway for a subtropical forest, which tends to stand still at this stage. But if you look closely, the lower and middle strata are overactive at that time when it comes to abundance systems. Therefore, we will favor this dynamic by pruning. In this way, the farmer will get faster and more strongly at a positive energy balance in consolidated life both in the sub-location in which he interacts and on the whole planet. That is, the farmer comes to a truly syntropic system. For this, it is very important that the trees are planted in high density and not in definitive density. It has to be a much denser planting so that the farmer can then select the best ones etc, and also because in the moment of pruning the trees cannot be too far apart otherwise there will be a lack of material. So, it has to be much denser than in an accumulation system.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The difference, therefore, in Ernst G\u00f6tsch&#8217;s proposal of syntropic agriculture lies in both high density and biodiversity consortium as well as in proper management. This is what guarantees the reproduction of the dynamics of a disturbance forest and that will positively impact the fruitification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>R\u00d4MULO: A regular shaded coffee plantation doesn&#8217;t have that dynamic. You just have coffee trees under old trees, the low stratum is removed, the regeneration that would ensure the trees of the future is virtually wiped out. Pruning work is not done, stratification work is not effectively done, you do not have a material deposition, do not have an opening of the upper strata for light to enter the low stratum at the right time. None of this usually happens in the shaded coffee plantations we see out there.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2>TRANSITION TO SYNTROPIC AGRICULTURE<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-biodiversity-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25902\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-biodiversity-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-biodiversity-370x493.jpeg 370w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-biodiversity-270x360.jpeg 270w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-biodiversity-570x760.jpeg 570w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-biodiversity-375x500.jpeg 375w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-biodiversity-740x987.jpeg 740w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/life-in-syntropy-coffee-biodiversity.jpeg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption>*All photos are from Recanto dos Tucanos Archives<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>WILIAMS: I was already working on the idea of \u200b\u200borganic, but as I got to hear about syntropic farming, watching the videos, I started doing some testing. It made me start to see things differently, but I still didn&#8217;t quite understand it. When I took the first workshop I saw how much I still had to learn. The biggest challenge was really believing in it because I had never seen anyone doing something like that near me. How was I supposed to believe? But I did and it worked. In the first pruning I did on trees I already saw the difference. Ernst says pruning is the &#8220;cat&#8217;s leap&#8221;, and really, he&#8217;s not kidding when he says that. He\u2019s never kidding when he is talking about syntropic agriculture. We have to learn from it. If you do it from the heart, it works. But it has to be done, otherwise, it&#8217;s useless. Once I understood that I started to comprehend that it was simpler than I first thought, and today we participate in the system every day. When, for any reason, there\u2019s a day when we don\u2019t work in the field we get upset.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-2019.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25917\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-2019.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-2019-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-2019-370x247.jpg 370w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-2019-270x180.jpg 270w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-2019-570x380.jpg 570w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-2019-750x500.jpg 750w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-2019-740x494.jpg 740w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption>Belo Horizonte_MG, 22 novembro de 2019\\n\\nSIC &#8211; Semana Internacional do Cafe\\n\\nImagem: NITRO Historias Visuais<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1000\" height=\"665\" src=\"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-williasvalerio1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25918\" srcset=\"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-williasvalerio1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-williasvalerio1-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-williasvalerio1-370x246.jpg 370w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-williasvalerio1-270x180.jpg 270w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-williasvalerio1-570x379.jpg 570w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-williasvalerio1-752x500.jpg 752w, https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/coffee-of-the-year-williasvalerio1-740x492.jpg 740w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption>Belo Horizonte_MG, 22 novembro de 2019\\n\\nSIC &#8211; Semana Internacional do Cafe\\n\\nImagem: NITRO Historias Visuais<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Among 500 coffee samples from 20 Brazilian regions, the coffee from producer Wilians Val\u00e9rio, from\u00a0Recanto dos Tucanos received the\u00a0Best Coffee of the Year 2019 award. The contest is one of the most important in the Brazilian scenario and the selection featured a number of phases that included expert appreciation (arabica coffee\u00a0Q-Graders), cupping tables, blind tasting [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":25905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[799],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25880"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25880"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25929,"href":"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25880\/revisions\/25929"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agendagotsch.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}