Crops

Large-scale coffee growing began in Nicaragua in the 1850’s. Coffee is a demanding crop, however, because coffee trees require several years to produce a harvest, and the entire production process requires a greater commitment of capital, labor, and land than do many other crops. Coffee also grows only in the rich volcanic soil found on mountainous terrain, making transportation of the crop to the market difficult. In 1992 more land was planted in coffee than in any other crop. The actual amount of land devoted to coffee varies somewhat form year to year, but averaged 210,000 hectares in the 1980’s. Production is centered in the northern part of the central highlands north and east of Esteli, and also in the hilly volcanic region around Jinotepe. Although production of coffee dropped somewhat in the late 1980’s, the 1989 crop was still 42,000 tons. Nicaragua’s poor transportation system and ecological concerns over the amount of land devoted to growing crops on volcanic slopes in the Pacific region limit further expansion of coffee cultivation. These limitations have led growers to explore planting other crops in undeveloped areas of the country.