Catherine Basiama runs his fingers along the branches of coffee trees he grew from the seedlings he has been worried about for the first fruit shoots since planting three years ago. When she finds a little cherry, Basiama takes pride in sucking the beam.
The farmers never cultivated coffee in villages in western South Sudan, but they hope that a now-unusual climate-resistant variety will help drive her family out of poverty.
“I want to send my kids to school so they can become future generations,” said Basiama, mother of 12.
Discovered in South Sudan more than a century ago, Excelsa Coffee is an exciting cash-bound local who has attracted international attention amidst a global coffee crisis driven primarily by climate change. Prices have been raised to the highest levels in decades in decades as major coffee producers face challenges when growing crops due to increasingly unstable weather, and the industry has fought for solutions.
Experts estimated that Brazil, the world’s largest coffee producer, could see a 12% drop in this year’s harvest due to drought.
“What history shows us is that sometimes the world doesn’t give you a choice, and for now, many coffee farmers are suffering from the effects of climate change,” said Aaron Davis, director of coffee research at Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, London.
Excelsa can play a pivotal role in adapting to these challenges.
The natives of South Sudan and several other African countries, including the Central African Republic and Uganda, are also grown in India, Indonesia and Vietnam. Its deep roots, thick, leathery leaves, and large trunks can thrive in extreme conditions such as drought and heat, where other coffee varieties fail. It is also resistant to many common coffee pests and diseases.
However, Excelsa accounts for less than 1% of the global market, far behind the two most widely consumed coffee varieties, Arabica and Robusta. Experts believe Excelsa must prove its practicality on a larger scale to close the market gaps created by climate change.
But for now, it represents a better future opportunity for locals.
Basiama said she began planting coffee after her husband was injured and unable to help grow enough corn and ground nuts to keep her family alive. Since the accident, she has struggled to afford the children’s tuition or buy enough food.
Another farmer, 37-year-old Taban John, who wants to use his coffee income to buy a bike, making it easier for town to sell other crops, such as ground nuts and cassava. He also hopes he can afford school uniforms for his children.
Community leaders see Excelsa as an opportunity for economic independence. They note that people often rely on government or foreign aid, but when their support is not approaching, they struggle to care for their families.
However, for coffee to truly flourish in South Sudan, locals need long-term mentality and stability.
Areabox lost half of its coffee crop to a fire in early February. He plans to replace it, but he is disappointed by the efforts involved and the lack of law and order that keeps people accountable.
“People don’t think long term about crops like coffee, especially during the war,” he said. “Coffee needs peace.”