Region
The Amazonas region of Peru borders the Cajamarca and Loreto regions and Ecuador to the north. Traditional slash-and-burn farming has, in the past, offered a quick infusion of nutrients in the soil, but this prolonged practice has resulted in degraded lands and devastating deforestation of primary forest. Farmers in Amazonas are working to reverse this practice and build soil fertility through reforestation via coffee, cocoa, and other agroforestry models.
Coffee production in Amazonas takes place on smallholder farms tucked into small plots in the mountains. Producers harvest, wash, and dry coffee independently. Cooperatives serve mostly warehouse functions and in the past have had to wait to dry mill and prepare coffee for export at third party facilities located significant distances from farms. This is changing as cooperatives seek investments for building their own infrastructure closer to producing areas and to member coffee farmers’ lands. Coffee exported from Amazonas departs from the Pacific port at the city of Paita in the Piura region.