Beyond genetics × environment interaction on quality drivers of <i>Arabica</i> coffee: a review of implication for Gedeo indigenous agroforestry systems under changing climates

Abstract

Quality coffee offers a wonderful taste and flavor for its consumers. However, the drivers of quality coffee were not documented fully for scaling up and further use of the practices in the study area. Hence, the present study was developed for reviewing the main factors responsible for the quality and productivity of coffee and identifying the research gaps. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses called PRISMA technique was used by critically reviewing six articles on genetics, 50 articles on environmental factors, 35 articles on management conditions, and 23 articles on socioeconomics. Results showed that people believed in a particular climate and environment as important markers of the quality of coffee; nevertheless, this research showed that established coffee management also had a crucial impact. It was also found that native agroforestry systems were necessary for high-quality coffee due to well-established relationships between shade trees, coffee plants, and farmer management as these practices alter the microclimate including the soil carbon, moisture, and nutrition regimes, allowing it to adapt to changes in evapotranspiration patterns. More significantly, coffee quality is determined by the socioeconomic factors affecting livelihoods, such as the adoption of new technologies, credit availability, farm size, additional inputs, market knowledge, physical infrastructure, extension services, literacy rate, frequency of extension visits, proximity to research centers, and producer incentives. To maintain the high standards of quality coffee production, there is a need to maintain a particular edaphic and climatic interaction, and established management systems for a particular cultivar. More importantly, infrastructural, social, and economic environments of coffee producers should be enhanced to ensure quality production.