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<\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nIbelmon Dion\u00edsio Alves was one such adventurer. Today 84 years old, he has been active in the coffee sector for 60 years. Some of his plants are now over 30 years old, but the road to get where he is was bumpy. He left his home in the state of Bahia with his brothers, a sack of clothes and some money at the age of 18. Their trip could be the plot of a good movie \u2014 driving in the back of a truck, walking for 18 km to reach a train station in Sao Paulo from where they then rode a train to the state of Paran\u00e1. There, Ibelmon met his future wife and learned most of what he knows today about coffee \u2014 first as a hand picker, then as a farm manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/div><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\nParan\u00e1 is one of the smaller coffee-producing states, accounting for around 3 per cent of Brazilian coffee, but that was not always the case. In the past, it produced more than half of all Brazilian coffee, which made it the biggest producer state. Unfortunately, Paran\u00e1 lies a bit more towards the south and at lower altitudes and is therefore more susceptible to frost disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The black frost<\/a> of 1975 changed the coffee agriculture in Paran\u00e1 forever. Whereas \u201cnormal\u201d frost only damages the tree for a season or two, black frost can destroy the tree, making it necessary to prune it extensively or plant a new one.\u00a0Since the trees are ready for their first harvest about three years after extensive pruning or planting, such a plague\u00a0poses a big problem not just to Brazilian farmers but to the global coffee market. Compared to the black frost of 2021, which destroyed around 40 per cent of crops in the affected areas, the black frost in 1975 is said to have destroyed over 70 per cent of Brazilian crops,\u00a0 doubling the price of coffee for two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This catastrophe coincided with the efforts of the government to relocate part of the population to the interior of Brazil, and many farmers heeded this urging. At first, Ibelmon persisted in Paran\u00e1, but diseases, pests and bad yields in the following years forced him to sell his farm and journey to the Cerrado in 1985 where he bought land. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jos\u00e9 Carlos Grossi on the other hand was one of the earliest coffee growers in the Cerrado. As a third-generation coffee farmer, he left his father\u2019s fields in Paran\u00e1 and in 1972 planted his first coffee trees in Minas Gerais. As one of the earliest settlers in the unknown region, he had to deal with problems of a different nature. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The soil in the Cerrado was dystrophic and did not suit coffee trees. Additionally, the farmers couldn\u2019t help themselves with the technological expertise for which Brazil is famous today as it was still in its infancy. It took Jos\u00e9 Carlos years of investing in his crops and almost going bankrupt before he began to reap the rewards of his hard work. However even in 1994, after 20 years of growing coffee in the Cerrado, the relationship between the soil and coffee varietals was still shrouded in mystery, so Jos\u00e9 had to do something different if he wanted to grow coffee of remarkable quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I met with his eldest son, Jos\u00e9 Carlos Segundo, he told me that his father \u201cset up experimental fields in partnership with some Brazilian institutions to develop genetic materials adapted to the climatic conditions and soil of the Cerrado.\u201d The experiments revealed which coffee varietals proved most suitable for certain micro areas, and what minerals the soil needed for the coffee trees to do their best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After finally mastering the local conditions, pioneers like Jos\u00e9 Carlos Grossi succeeded in growing coffees with unique profiles. The Cerrado might be the youngest coffee region in Brazil, but the farmers have made a name for themselves with their innovative approach to farming while keeping it sustainable as well. More than that, for farmers who want their coffee to bear the Regi\u00e3o do Cerrado Mineiro<\/a> seal, sustainability is a requirement. The Cerrado was the first Brazilian coffee region awarded with a Designation of Origin seal, giving it a status similar to French wine regions or the Italian Parmigiano Reggiano.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/bartalks.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Beans-among-coffee1-web.jpg\")
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