Visions - Fall 2008 - 12

SC Central America This Coffee Is For The Birds Bird Friendly® Coffee Exports to Japan in Partnership with Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and SC Central America T he history of coffee has been recorded as far back as the eleventh century in Ethiopia when the native bean was first cultivated by Ethiopian Highlanders. From there, the beans entered the Indian and European markets, and the popularity of the beverage spread. But until a few years ago, there was not much thought to how the coffee was grown and its effect on our environment. Today, Sumitomo Corporation (SC), together with its SC Americas’ liaison in Guatemala, along with the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) is involved in importing and selling a new, environmentally-friendly coffee which is aptly named “Bird Friendly®.” Bird Friendly® (BF) refers to organic certified coffee grown on farms with a shade cover that provides substantial habitat for migratory and resident birds in tropical landscapes. Created in the late 1990’s by the staff of the SMBC at the National Zoological Park in Washington D.C., the BF certification mark and seal of approval is based on ornithological research in several Latin American countries. Currently, SC Guatemala is directly involved as a liaison for the commercialization of this particular coffee cultivation project, with SC personnel making frequent visits to the BF coffee-growing operations. Sumitomo became involved with BF coffee when Mr. Takuro Sasaki of Sumitomo Corporation in Japan visited a coffee farm in Guatemala in 2003.According to Mr. Sasaki, “The grower told me that they were planning to obtain the Bird Friendly® certification under the program established by Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. That was my first contact with Bird Friendly®. The farm was forest-like and organic so I could easily understand how the Bird Friendly® farm was environmentally friendly.” According to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park website, the underlying rationale for these bird-friendly coffee farms is that if the habitat is there, then birds will use it and benefit from it – even if it is an agricultural setting. Many farms in Latin America meet the criteria and do provide large areas of suitable habitat for many birds. After returning home to Japan from the coffee farm, Mr. Sasaki wondered whether Sumitomo could import this coffee to the Japanese market.“Actually, I was looking for a new concept,” Mr. Sasaki explained. “The basic concept of 12 visions Fall 2008 Bird Friendly® is environmentally friendly. There were not many food products with this kind of concept in Japan at that time.Although there were organic products, they sounded like safe and healthy rather than eco-friendly.And at this time, the Japanese were getting more interested in environmental issues like global warming. Therefore, I had confidence that the concept of Bird Friendly® would work here.” Mr. Sasaki added,“The criteria of certifying coffee organic is the same as the other organic products under the JAS (Japanese Agricultural Standard) organic regulation in the Japanese market.” He continued,“Shade grown has the original criteria established by SMBC which requires at least 40% shade cover and at least a 12 meter high main canopy as well as 11 different tree species composing the shade canopy.” Mr. Sasaki contacted SMBC and met with Dr. Robert Rice who was a research scientist of SMBC and established the Bird Friendly® program. This meeting sprung this unique and strong partnership.After six months of negotiation, Mr. Sasaki and Mr. Rice reached an exclusive agreement for the commercialization

Visions - Fall 2008

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