Le Van Tam is no stranger to how the vagaries of global trade can determine the fortunes of small coffee farmers like him.
He first planted coffee in a patch of land outside Buon Ma Thuot city in Vietnam’s Central Highland region in 1995. For years, his focus was on quantity, not quality. Tam used ample amounts of fertiliser and pesticides to boost his yields, and global prices determined how well he did.
Then, in 2019, he teamed up with Le Dinh Tu of Aeroco Coffee, an organic exporter to Europe and the United States, and adopted more sustainable methods, turning his coffee plantation into a sun-dappled forest. The coffee grows side-by-side with tamarind trees that add nitrogen to the soil and provide support for black pepper vines. Grass helps keep the soil moist and the mix of plants discourages pest outbreaks. The pepper also adds to Tam’s income.