Solar drying is an alternative innovation to process where product is exposed to direct sunlight and outdoors and where final quality is not always optimal. Solar dryers are installations that require little capital and low maintenance costs, are easy to build and use any locally available material. Objective of this work was to evaluate economic efficiency of drying process of washed coffee beans using a solar dryer built with regional materials. Study was carried out during 2022 coffee harvest, in a passive semi-parabolic greenhouse solar dryer, with an external cover of 36 m2 as a collector. Results showed a unit cost of $11.29 MXN on average to dry a kilogram of washed coffee and transform it into parchment coffee; the benefit/cost ratio was 1.40 and the investment recovery period was determined in one months, values that make solar drying unit a highly profitable option.

The sustainability of Coffea arabica L. production in Oaxaca, Mexico, is increasingly threatened by climate change, biodiversity loss, and pest pressure, along with other factors that undermine the responsiveness of small-scale producers in the state, such as trade restrictions and coffee-related regulatory frameworks. These challenges are particularly acute in mountainous regions like Oaxaca, where coffee cultivation plays a central role in rural livelihoods, cultural identity, and territorial development. Studies demonstrate that localized models are vital for rural improvement, reducing the carbon footprint, and maintaining economic viability. Despite extensive research on agronomic, environmental, and market factors, sustainability strategies for coffee production often remain fragmented and insufficiently integrated. This systematic review used the Scopus Review database, searching by title, abstract, and keywords such as “sustainable coffee production” from 2015 to 2026. A total of 1085 documents were retrieved and processed using VOSviewer software to generate a bibliographic map in which frequently used words are grouped by color to show their relationships. Using Oaxaca as a regional case study, the article synthesizes the key factors influencing coffee productivity and quality, examines the main socio-environmental challenges, and proposes a conceptual framework that integrates agroecosystem management with socioeconomic processes under external climate and market pressures. The proposed framework highlights the central role of agroforestry systems and ecosystem services in improving climate resilience, conserving biodiversity, and supporting quality-oriented value chains. These processes generate feedback loops that influence farmers’ livelihoods, food security, and territorial sustainability. While grounded in the context of Oaxaca, the socio-ecological review and conceptual framework presented here are applicable to other Arabica-producing regions facing similar challenges, providing a structured basis for future research, policy design, and integrated sustainability strategies.

El chile es un ingrediente central en la gastronomía mexicana; en Oaxaca, no solo es un ingrediente, es parte de la identidad, cocina e historia, que se ha conservado durante generaciones principalmente por agricultores a través de los productores en huertos familiares o de traspatio.

Coffee (Coffea arabica) is a very important world commodity because of the countries involved in its production, along with the total cultivated area, production volume, consumption and economic impact. In Mexico, the coffee producing areas are located mainly in the hilly terrain of southern Mexico under agroforestry systems predominantly owned by smallholders. Low productivity is faced especially in the state of Oaxaca as a result of inadequate management practices such as aged plantations and deficient practices of pruning and plant nutrition. In order to evaluate the effect of inorganic fertilization on coffee yield, an experiment was carried out at three plantations located in the coastal coffee producing region of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Six treatments considering varied amounts of inorganic nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) and lime application were applied in coffee plantations with the varieties Typica and Oro azteca. A randomized complete block design with four replications was used. The experiments were conducted in areas with three- or four-year-old plants, with the objective of having at least one harvest for yield evaluation. The variables’ plant height and coffee yield per plant were registered. The soil was classified based on soil profile description and lab analyses. The results showed that the soil in the study area is a Lithic Ustorthent with low pedogenic evolution and the application of inorganic nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium along with dolomitic lime, increased coffee yield on both varieties of arabica coffee: Typica and Oro azteca.

Coffee is a very important world commodity because of the countries involved in its production, along with the total cultivated area, production volume, consumption and economic impact. In Mexico, the coffee producing area locates mainly in hilly terrain of southern Mexico under agroforestry systems predominantly owned by smallholders. Low productivity is faced specially in the state of Oaxaca as a result of inadequate management practices such as aged plantations and deficient practices on pruning and plant nutrition. In order to evaluate the effect of N-P-K inorganic fertilizer application an experiment was carried out at three plantations located in the coastal coffee producing region of the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Three levels of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium were evaluated using a randomized complete block design with four replications. The experiments initiated on plantations with three and four years since planted with the objective of having at least one harvest for yield evaluation. The results showed that Nitrogen application increased coffee yield on both varieties of Arabica coffee: Typica and Oro Azteca.