Improving post-harvesting water use in coffee production - Mexico

A key step in coffee production, following the harvesting of the coffee cherries, is the treatment process to extract the coffee beans. This can be done by drying the cherries in the sun, or by water treatment (wet processing with a pulper). Often, in the case of wet processing, unnecessary amounts of water are consumed. To improve water management in local coffee production, Nestlé Mexico launched in 1994 an “Ecological Milling” initiative (“Jornadas Internacionales Sobre el Beneficiado Económico y Ecológico de Café”) with the participation of government, exporters, mills, farmers and coffee equipment companies such as Penagos and Pinhalense. Working with the farmers who supply coffee to the Company, Nestlé provides training and support for new technology to decrease water use in coffee production processes. As a result, water usage in coffee production was reduced from 40 litres to 3 to 5 litres of water per kilogram of coffee. Today this technology is used by Nestlé Coffee suppliers in Mexico, achieving annual savings of about 296,000 m3 of water a year. The initiative is being promoted by the Mexican government, reaching many partners in the Mexican coffee milling industry, who have also adopted this technology.