The production of specialty coffees is an important activity for farm incomes and should be encouraged. However, it is necessary that this process may respect the principles based on the economic, environmental, and social axes of sustainability. This research was carried out aiming to generate the initial benchmark of the sustainability of four farms in the municipality of Afonso Cláudio, State of Espírito Santo, Brazil. The System for Assessing Sustainability Standards for Coffee Growing in Espírito Santo, a tool in the format of an electronic spreadsheet, was used in order to quantify the scores of the different standards. The results showed a gap in the three axes with intervention needs mainly related to economical standards, followed by environmental, and social ones. The main interferences have been related to the quality of coffee beans management, costs and incomes of the farms, improvement in harvest and post-harvest processes, training in the use of manual machines, and the correct use of pesticides. Different intervention techniques will be offered to coffee-growers for Viçosi et al.

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Coffee growing is an important activity for the income of farms and the production of specialty coffees should be encouraged. However, it is necessary that this process respects the principles based on the economic, environmental, and social axes of sustainability. This research was carried out in the municipality of Conceição do Castelo, State of Espírito Santo, Brazil aiming to assess the initial benchmark of the sustainability of three farms. The results showed a gap in the three axes with intervention needs mainly related to economic standards, followed by social and environmental. Different interventions and adaptations need to be used on each farm aiming to reach better levels of adequacy according to sustainability criteria; however, the values of the families and their limitations must be respected, particularly the economic, social, and cultural conditions. The three coffee farms need adjustments for the production of specialty coffees, mainly related to economic criteria. In this way, farms will be able to reach new markets, add value to coffee beans, increase farm income and develop sustainability.

ResumoConsiderando o padrão de produção implantado e que há tempos se vem usando, depara-se com uma realidade que se mostram necessárias mudanças na forma de olhar e conduzir as lavouras, voltadas a modelos de base agroecológica. Este documento apresenta formas de interação entre plantas e animais de maneira simultânea, àqueles que buscam por uma agricultura sustentável, com acréscimo de culturas diferentes no mesmo local, contribuindo para um retorno econômico, financeiro e ambiental. Além disso, evidencia que algumas culturas de interesse econômico, como o cafeeiro, pode ser trabalhado juntamente em sistemas agroflorestais (espécies florestais, culturas agrícolas e criação de animais), proporcionando agregação de valor ao produto. Sendo a cafeicultura um cultivo de extremo interesse ao País e que apresenta um mercado crescente, verificou-se relevância de estudo nessa área, uma vez que o manejo de cultivo pode ser determinante para a qualidade da bebida do café. Como o café conilon concentra grande parte de seu campo produtivo no estado do Espírito Santo, e que estão, em sua maioria, em pequenas propriedades rurais e de base familiar, mostra-se potencial assimilação em aliar conservação e produtividade dentro de manejos que consorciem esse cafeeiro a espécies madeireiras e frutíferas. A arborização se torna interessante opção por proporcionarem um microclima local: podem minimizar efeitos oriundos de alterações climáticas, que aumentaram as temperaturas e o período de seca, com sérios prejuízos econômicos aos produtores. Em suma, destaca-se que os sistemas agroflorestais já vêm sendo implantados e bem sucedidos, como aqui se difunde e vê.Palavras-chave: Cafeicultura sustentável. Base agroecológica. Consorciação. Diversificação de produção.Tópicos em recuperação de áreas degradadas. Volume IV Maurício Novaes Souza (Org.

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The coffee production chain has great socio-economic importance in Brazil, generating foreign exchange with great job-generating capacity. The Brazilian coffee production is circa 2.863 k tons and coffee research has contributed to the development of new technologies in order to increase yield. However, the size of plots used for coffee experiments has been variable and mostly based on the empirical researcher's experience. Therefore, this research was carried out aiming to determine the optimal size of experimental plots to evaluate field growing parameters of Arabica coffee. The modified maximum curvature model and the comparison of variances were the methods used. It is concluded that 2, 3, 3, and 6 plants per useful experimental plot of Arabica coffee are enough to evaluate the field growing parameters plant height, plant canopy diameter, vigor, and wet mass, respectively by the method of modified maximum curvature. Two plants per experimental plot were required when using the variance comparison method to the parameters plant height, and plant canopy diameter, and 4 plants were enough to the parameters vigor and wet mass. In general, four useful plants per experimental plot were enough using the variance comparison method and six useful plants when using the modified maximum curvature method.

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