Of the €7 million an amount of €4 million are used for direct investments as well as for the direct preparation, managing, monitoring and support of investments. The investments are necessary for small local grants or subsidies, guarantees and concessional loans to producers and processers. For Personnel are calculated three (2) international and eight (8) local experts (3 for management of loans and grants). External services are necessary for national and international consultants, financing for studies and cost-benefit calculations. Other costs are for office and travel costs of partner personnel and other stakeholder, like promoters from ICAFE and management of Fundecooperación.

The agricultural sector accounts for 37 % of national GHG emissions, 25% of these belong to the coffee sector (10% of overall emissions). The NAMA support project addresses the two most important sources of GHG identified in the coffee sector: the farm (NO2 mitigation and CO2 fixation) and the mills (CH4 and CO2 mitigation). The support project will have direct and indirect effects on mitigating GHG emissions as it will focus on improving the “mitigation capacity” of Costa Rica. Indirectly, the support project will con-tribute to the following emission reductions by the target groups (farms and mills):

1. Reductions in nitrous oxide emissions, by adoption of efficient practices of fertilizer application.

2. Reductions in methane emissions by improved water management in anaerobic treatment systems and by introducing technologies for wastewater treatment.

3. Reductions in methane and CO2 emissions through aerobic treatment and energetic use of pulp.

4. Reduction in CO2 emissions coming for electrical energy savings by improving the coffee drying process

5. Increased fixation of carbon by the spread of coffee agroforestry systems (intensified shading).

The reduction potential in growing and milling is approx. 30,000 Ton CO2/year, meanwhile carbon sink potential is approximately 90,000 Ton CO2/year, resulting in a total mitigation potential of 120,000 Ton CO2/year. The expected aggregate GHG emission reductions over 20 years will be 1,850,000 Ton CO2e in conservative estimates. The support project could directly or indirectly influence about 250,000 ton CO2  of this mitigation potential. The quantification of GHG mitigation potential will become available through the application of the MRV system.

The Ministry of Agriculture in cooperation with the coffee sector of Costa Rica implements policy reforms that induce low carbon coffee production. Innovations in the fertilizer industry, Capacity building and incentive mechanisms will improve production changes in the national coffee sector,  regarding its climate impacts. This will enable Costa Rica a stronger position in carbon-neutral agriculture products.

The coffee industry, worried about future supply of premium coffee, will be brought in as a major financial partner for NAMA implementation. Co-benefits will include more sustainable energy consumption in milling, increased soil conservation and biodiversity, improve adaptation of coffee production to climate change, cost savings and income diversification of farmers through agro-forestry systems.

The support project will improve the capacities to implement and monitor the political framework for environmentally and climate-friendly economic practices.

The MRV methods will assess the real mitigation achievement. It is estimated that the project will contribute to around 250.000 Tons CO2 mitigation, by direct implementation of mitigation infrastructure and practices.

Component 1: New efficient practices of fertilizer use and low-emission fertilizers are implemented in coffee sector (indicator: 50% of total number of total producers)

Component 2: Agroforestry systems (PSA) are promoted to coffee farmers. (Indicator: 7.500 coffee ha with shadow trees)

Component 3:  Coffee processers have implemented new low carbon technologies reducing GHG emissions, eg energy efficiency, biomass aerobic treatment of residues (pulp) and wastewater. (indicator: 25% of total number of total number of mills or 75% of total number of great mills)

Component 4: MRV system is applied (Indicator: 30% of coffee farmers and mills or 100% of support project partners).

Component 5: Access to markets for low-carbon coffee is improved and financial incentives for low-emission production practices are in place.

Socio-economic Co-benefits: such as cost savings, income diversification and capital building on farmers level, higher yields and earnings through increased soil fertility and less vulnerable soils, ecological competitiveness on regional/international markets through a certified carbon-neutral coffee trademark; maintenance of the level of employment: up to 150,000 jobs during harvest.

At all, 52,787 coffee producers, 184 coffee mills (organized in cooperatives or private companies) are maintaining the coffee sector as an important export sector: actually about 9.2% of national exports. NAMA Coffee will impact the standard of living of more than 400,000 people; and possibly improving its international image through climate change actions.

Ecological Co-benefits: such as reduction of eutrophication through improved wastewater management and reduced fertilizer use, more sustainable energy consumption in milling activities, increased soil conservation and biodiversity, improved adaptation capacity of the coffee farms to climate change through spread of agro-forestry systems etc.

Institutional Co-benefits: The NAMA support project will improve the capacities of relevant Costa Rican stakeholders to design, finance, implement and monitor NAMAs  (in the coffee sector in specific and in general), and it will improve the political framework for inducing environmentally and climate-friendly economic practices. In addition to the direct benefits on the institutional and political level, the support project will contribute to low emission institutional development. 

The political-institutional framework is provided by the National Development Plan (PND), a National Strategy on Climate Change (ENCC), a Carbon-Neutral Country Program (Programa País Carbono Neutralidad), and a specific framework "State Policy for Climate Change in Agriculture and Food". The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock recently issued, in 2011, the State Policy for the Agriculture and Livestock Sector and Costa Rican Rural Development 2010-2021, in which one of four pillars established is Climate Change and Agroenvironmental Management. The agricultural sector is defined as priority in the Climate Change Action Plan (2012). The Coffee NAMA Steering Committee (Mesa Café) is the existing project management unit to link strategies with concrete implementing actions. A mechanism for payment for environmental services in agroforestry systems (Coffee PSA-SAF), as well as a recognition system for environmental agricultural services are already established, and could leverage incentives for implementing Coffee NAMA. The Carbon Neutral Country Program will determine the reference level for MRV, participation criteria for interested organizations and monetary transfers based on reduction plans and compensation options. The Costa Rican government has recently approved a budget of around 40 million USD for the coffee sector, of which a big part can also be used for mitigation actions. The Costa Rican government is developing a National Carbon Market, including advances in mechanisms for carbon neutral operations certification and Costa Rican carbon credits production. The Agriculture and Livestock sector is a potential producer of Costa Rican Carbon Units (UCC’s) through carbon capture and low emission production practices, or as a potential buyer of UCC’s if interest to certify operations as carbon neutral through market incentives existed.                                  

1) The BMU/ GIZ Project “Implementing National Strategy for Climate Change/Niedrigemissionsland Costa Rica” has supported the whole preparation process of the NAMA-Café, including the development and presentation of the NAMA concept note, suggestion of MRV methods and NAMA contents, etc. The NAMA support project will build on these activities.

2) The experiences of the project EC-LEDS on measurement methods for GHG inventories might also be used for the further development of the MRV system, at the same time its support to the agriculture sector in general and to the transport sector creates possibilities for synergies and exchange on NAMA implementation issues.

3) The Low Emissions Capacity Building Programme (LECB) works in Costa Rica specifically in Livestock and Transport, financed with resources from the European Union, Germany and Spain.

3) The Multilateral Investment Fund (FOMIN) of the IADB currently finances a small pilot project implemented by Fundecooperación for the development and testing of GHG-efficient farming practices and MRV methods for coffee sector. The proposed support project will continue and scale up the experiences of this project.

4) A World Bank/PMR – Partnership for Market Readiness Project supports the setup of a national compensation market. The PMR project aims to elaborate and implement important financing mechanisms that might leverage future investments also in the coffee sector. The proposed NAMA support project will cooperate closely with PMR. 

5) A program financed by the national budget (Fidecomiso Café) invests in the coffee sector to tackle climate-change related plant diseases, and the extension services supported under the NAMA support Project will be designed in a complementary manner to this program.