Grounded Values: An Exploration of Soil Ethics in Puerto Rican Coffee Farmers

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Commodities

• Additional Plants: coffee

Practices

• Crop Production: agroforestry, application rate management, conservation tillage, contour farming, cover crops, food product quality/safety, forest farming, intercropping, no-till, nurseries, nutrient cycling, nutrient management, pollinator habitat, silvopasture, stubble mulching, terraces, water management, windbreaks
• Education and Training: decision support system, demonstration, extension, farmer to farmer, networking, on-farm/ranch research, technical assistance, workshop
• Farm Business Management: agricultural finance, agritourism, budgets/cost and returns, business planning, community-supported agriculture, farm-to-restaurant, farm succession, financial management, labor/employment, land access, marketing management, value added
• Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, carbon sequestration, drift/runoff buffers, habitat enhancement, riparian buffers, soil stabilization, wildlife
• Pest Management: biological control, eradication, integrated pest management, mulches - living, mulching - vegetative
• Production Systems: agroecosystems, holistic management, integrated crop and livestock systems
• Soil Management: composting, nutrient mineralization, organic matter, soil analysis, soil physics, soil quality/health
• Sustainable Communities: analysis of personal/family life, community services, partnerships, quality of life, social capital, sustainability measures

Soil degradation, exacerbated by agricultural activities promoting soil erosion, poses significant threats to the ecosystem services provided by soil. This trend is particularly concerning in Latin American countries, which lead global coffee production and face challenges from soil erosion, especially in hurricane-prone regions. Despite the potential benefits, small-scale coffee farmers often struggle to adopt soil conservation practices due to financial constraints. This highlights the need for conservation programs to address both economic and ethical dimensions to enhance adoption rates. Current efforts often overlook the social and ethical aspects of soil conservation, resulting in the disregard of farmers' philosophical perspectives. To address this gap, we will use a mixed methods embedded research design to examine underserved minority Latino coffee farmers’ values, beliefs, and norms regarding soil conservation and their relationship to motivation to adopt soil conservation practices. By exploring these dimensions, we aim to provide insights that can inform more effective and inclusive conservation strategies tailored to the needs and perspectives of coffee farmers. Ultimately, integrating social and ethical considerations into soil conservation efforts is crucial for ensuring the sustainability of coffee farming and protecting the livelihoods of farmers.

Based on the limited literature on soil conservation efforts and soil ethics in coffee farming, the research objectives for this study follow: 

1. To examine the relationship between coffee farmers' values, beliefs, and norms regarding soil conservation, socio-economic status, educational background, and access to resources and their motivation to adopt soil conservation practices 
2. To describe the ethical personal norms that motivate farmers to adopt soil conservation practices 
3. To implement and evaluate a soil conservation workshop to share recommendations and best practices for fostering soil conservation among coffee farmers