Coffee farmers in the Yoro region of Honduras are showing an interest in adopting reforestation on their farms.
This is indicated by the results of a recent survey of 600 coffee farmers in the region, implemented by Mesoamerican Development Institute (MDI) and overseen by the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
The survey was aimed at gauging farmers’ interest in adopting Integrated Open Canopy™ (IOC) coffee farming (in which they restore forest areas on their coffee farms).
The results indicate a very strong desire on the part of coffee farmers to participate in IOC™:
85.7% of farmers say they are interested in adopting IOC™ production! … And of that 85.7% (54.7% indicated “definitely”; and 32%, “probably”)
The language of the survey, which deals with complex subject matter, was developed through focus groups of local farmers; both those practicing IOC™ and others who had no knowledge of IOC™; And in terms of the overall survey, 96.5% said they were confident in their choices, and 92.6% said the scenarios presented were realistic.
These are validating results illustrating that the concept of being financially rewarded for restoring forest on coffee farms is both relevant and desired by many local community members. These results also mean it’s expected that more farms will be added to the 20 existing IOC™ pilot farms. 🙌