Climate change and environmental degradation are causing problems for coffee growers in developing countries. Nicaraguan Coffee Grower, Francisco Javier Valle, says those with farms at low elevations can’t grow coffee anymore because it’s too hot.

Large coffee plantations have cut down trees, something he says decreases precipitation.

Sustainable Harvest is a coffee importer that helps growers find markets for their coffee in a way that is good for the environment and society. Their goal is to find long-term solutions for farmers so they can have viable businesses.

Sustainable Harvest says the farmers it works with do not have to be organically certified but good environmental practices are encouraged.

Coffee is one of the few cash crops that can grow under trees. Sustainable Harvest works with growers to replant in areas that have been deforested, like the area outside Gombe National Park in Tanzania.

Valle says farmers who are organically certified or have good environmental practices can get higher prices for their coffee. That’s incentive for him to grow his coffee in an environmentally responsible way and he hopes more growers will do the same.