ABSTRACT
The production of coffee depends on diverse inputs, equipment, and infrastructure whose origins span the globe. Conventional coffee growers depend on internationally manufactured agrochemicals to produce their coffee. Coffee plants require fertile soils and can deplete key nutrients rapidly; therefore most coffee producers rely on synthetic (inorganic) fertilizers to ensure soil fertility. Many coffee farmers, particularly those with sun-grown plantations, apply pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. The world's major agrochemical companies manufacture these products in the industrial nations of the Global North and Southeast Asia. Coffee plantations begin with clearing forests, with implications for biodiversity, soil erosion, watersheds, and climate change. Then farmers must purchase seeds or seedlings. Pesticides may be applied on a schedule or as needed when an infestation is discovered. Common pesticides used on coffee plantations in Latin America include Furadan, Diazinon, Di-Syston, and Thiodan.
