Agroforestry coffee opens door to carbon credit market

Dual benefits from growing coffee under forest canopies

In mid-November, the coffee garden grown beneath golden cassia trees owned by Ms. Tran Mai Huong in Cop Hamlet, Huong Phung Commune, Quang Tri province, is entering the harvest season. This year, coffee has enjoyed both a good yield and favorable prices, bringing tremendous excitement to growers like Ms. Huong.

What Ms. Huong did not expect was that both the yield and quality of coffee beans grown under the golden cassia canopy would improve over time. The shade provided by the trees slows the growth process, allowing coffee cherries to accumulate more fats and compounds, ripen evenly, avoid sun scorch, develop larger beans, and achieve higher sweetness levels. The harvested beans have a distinctive flavor suitable for specialty coffee production, are well-received by consumers, and command higher prices compared to monoculture cultivation. Alongside rising coffee prices, the Madam Huong Coffee brand has been steadily establishing its position in consumers' minds.

"Through recent training sessions, we have been guided to plant shade trees at a density of 60–120 trees per hectare. At this density, it not only ensures crop quality but also aligns with emissions reduction criteria," Ms. Huong shared.

Ms. Huong is among the households that grow and process coffee into green beans and roasted ground coffee for the market. However, most people in the southwestern communes of Quang Tri province grow coffee primarily to sell to traders, agents, and local coffee-processing facilities. Information about the opportunity to participate in the carbon credit market through deforestation-free coffee cultivation has had a positive impact on the mindset of coffee growers in the area.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang, Director of Khe Sanh Agricultural Cooperative, stated that the cooperative is currently working with 115 households growing coffee in a deforestation-free, organic manner, covering nearly 200 hectares. Each year, the cooperative purchases 700 - 1,000 tons of high-quality coffee. In 2025, Khe Sanh Coffee, made from these high-quality, organically grown, deforestation-free beans, was recognized as a 5-star OCOP product.

According to Ms. Hang, deforestation-free, low-emission coffee cultivation is currently providing farmers with multiple opportunities: increasing yield, raising product value, and generating intangible environmental benefits. This is a clear indicator of sustainable and environmentally friendly agriculture.

“Low-emission coffee cultivation here is implemented using shade-growing techniques with native trees such as gáo, jackfruit, and coffee jackfruit, creating multi-layered coffee gardens. Deforestation-free coffee cultivation generates tangible value. If farmers receive additional compensation through the sale of carbon credits, coffee growers in particular, and agricultural producers in general, will be further motivated,” Ms. Hang said.

Opening opportunities in the carbon market

In 2023, with support from WWF-Vietnam, Quang Tri province launched an agroforestry coffee project to convert 2,500 hectares of monoculture coffee to agroforestry systems by 2027 and increase incomes by 40% for 2,000 participating households. After two years, Slow Forest Coffee Company has partnered with local families, cooperatives, and businesses to establish a high-quality agroforestry coffee supply chain by developing 1,000 hectares of raw material zones, mainly in Huong Phung Commune. Many coffee plots are now thriving under fruit and native trees, contributing to higher incomes for local farmers.

A representative from the Quang Tri Department of Agriculture and Environment stated that the agroforestry coffee project, supported by WWF-Vietnam, focuses on shifting coffee cultivation from monoculture to an agroforestry model to increase productivity and quality, enhance climate resilience, reduce deforestation, and protect natural forests.

Coffee gardens are intercropped with shade-providing trees (native timber/shade trees) and managed through fertilization, irrigation, organic fertilization techniques, biological pest control, and replanting practices. Participating farmers receive training in agroforestry cultivation, small-scale forest management, and organic practices. These cultivation measures are combined with natural forest conservation actions, creating ecological corridors and forest linkages to reduce the risk of deforestation from unsustainable coffee expansion.

Ms. Nguyen Hong Phuong, Deputy Director of Quang Tri’s Department of Agriculture and Environment, noted that, amid tightening domestic and international regulations on product origin, replanting and the development of ecological, organic, and agroforestry coffee are essential. This approach gradually aligns with EU requirements on deforestation prevention and greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments, aiming to build a sustainable Quang Tri coffee ecosystem linked to carbon credits in the future.

Growing coffee under native trees in an agroforestry model not only improves yield and quality but also aligns with international deforestation prevention regulations. However, maintaining and scaling this model requires farmers to overcome technical challenges, production capacity limitations, and high standards set by international organizations.

Initially, cultivating coffee under forest canopies has delivered dual benefits, both economic and environmental. To advance toward carbon credit certification, the process needs standardization.

Ms. Luong Thi Ngoc Tram, Director of Pun Coffee Company (Quang Tri), pointed out that the greatest challenge lies in the strict procedures required for carbon credit recognition. Raw material zones must be remeasured, documented with photos and continuously updated data; soil rehabilitation, biodiversity, and cultivation practices must be monitored for 1-3 years before international organizations evaluate and calculate carbon credit values.

Currently, most farmers lack experience in record-keeping and monitoring, have limited knowledge of organic cultivation, or fear risks when reducing chemical use. Recognizing these challenges, Quảng Trị has implemented multiple support measures, transferring agroforestry coffee production processes to key farmer groups to disseminate knowledge across the coffee-growing region.