Why this climate-resilient coffee may be just what farmers need
When Daniel Sarmu was growing up in eastern Sierra Leone, his family had two ways of making money: finding diamonds and growing coffee.
Both were grueling, uncertain kinds of work. Diamonds were, well, as rare as diamonds. Coffee, by contrast, grew hungrily in the region’s steamy, tropical rainforest climate. But the only kind of coffee that farmers like Mr. Sarmu’s family could grow was a variety called robusta. That’s the cheaper, lower-quality cousin of arabica coffee, which requires a milder climate. Sierra Leone was simply too hot.
“The price of robusta went up and
