A little like the owner of this Smart car whose solution, whilst temporary, combatted the clear and present danger of someone falling from the vehicle given the lack of a side door panel, so too are coffee farmers all around the world looking for solutions to the dangers presented by climate change. The threat is real and whilst the current solutions may not be what saves this crop from extinction, the farmers and broader community are actively developing, experimenting and iterating fixes.
The climate change crisis is changing the ways of coffee farmers. The frequency and intensity of droughts, together with rising temperatures, is forcing farmers to implement changes at the farm level, to help deal with these conditions. Shade trees are being planted amongst coffee trees, more targeted fertilisers are being used and the planting of alternative species that are more disease resistant, more tolerant to drought and warmer temperatures, are all initiatives that are being adopted. These strategies will stave off the eradication of this important crop but several studies are predicting that many of the current areas used to grow coffee crops may become unsuitable as early as 2050, forcing farmers to look for alternative crops or to look for land at higher elevations.
There is no definitive answer to the quandary presented by changes in our climate but there are some very resilient, inquisitive and clever minds, pooling their collective brain power to find solutions.