Devouring profit - International Coffee Organization

Table 15. Harvesting periods of some inter-crops in India.
shows the harvesting periods for the inter-crops in three coffee zones of India. It is
clear that all of them have non-coffee labour needs that compete with those operations
required for coffee. Despite cheap labour in India, if coffee prices continue low,
some critical decisions for optimal deployment of labour may be necessary. For instance
if certain CBB operations need to be carried out at the same time that orange
or pepper have to be collected, a problem of labour allocation could arise. This is a
good example of the importance of a comprehensive analysis of the whole farm budget
to assess the likely impact of new control recommendations.
3.2.2 IPM in Ecuador
Regions Crops Harvesting months
Kogadu Orange September / October
Pepper December / January / February
Wayanad Pepper December / January / February
Ginger 9 September / October
Pulneys Pepper December / January / February
The Consejo Cafetalero Nacional, Cofenac 10 (1999) has made recommendations to
reduce the infestation levels of CBB. These recommendations include:
Pick up and burn the berries attacked by CBB, especially from minor flowerings.
Carry out shade regulation in order to increase illumination, which is less favourable
to the pest.
Prune the coffee trees to promote healthy and vigorous plantations.
Carry out sufficient weeding to avoid competition for sunlight, water and nutrients.
Apply fertiliser to ensure good crop productivity.
Anecafé (1999), an exporter organisation working in CBB control, principally promotes
the use of cultural control. This control measure is based on coffee harvesting of all
ripe beans, collection of the fallen berries and pruning the coffee tree. The use of
organic insecticides and biological control is also increasingly promoted.
Thus the main IPM message given to farmers concerns the employment of cultural
control. We believe this to be the correct approach but since farmers are not paid
more for CBB-free coffee, the usefulness of carrying out this measure depends en-
9 Used just during establishment, 2-3 years
10 National Coffee Council of Ecuador
35