Realising equitable gender opportunities to improve smallholder coffee livelihoods in post conflict areas using advances in digital technology.

Coffee Berry Borer (CBB) is a serious pest of coffee in Colombia and causes high loses in production and significantly reduces quality therefore lowering farmers earning. This project aims to increase coffee yields and improve quality by more effectively managing the pest thus increasing farmers’ incomes and their livelihoods. Currently the main method for managing CBB is by the use of chemical pesticides, a reduction in chemical pesticides has not been possible to date as the damage caused by CBB is still too high for production to be profitable. The project proposes to use safer biopesticides to replace the use of chemical pesticides. In order for this to be feasible the effectiveness of existing biopesticides needs to be improved and a forecasting method developed to ensure the biopesticides are applied to the crop at the correct time and these are some of the issues the project will address. A reduction in the use of chemical pesticides would also lessen the risk of pesticide residues being present in the coffee beans ensuring market access for trade and opening up opportunities for organic coffee production. The project aims to focus on increasing the role of female farmers in coffee production and will assess with these women producers how best to provide information and technologies for pest management in a form they can easily access and use.