What happens when coffee meets a forest?

Climate pressures are rising. In one Vietnamese coffee region, farmers are turning to agroforestry to secure yields, restore soils, and keep supply chains stable.

Ho Thi Hong, 20, on her farm in Quang Tri, Vietnam, in July 2025. She joins the PFFP, a project promoting agroforestry. © Slow 

 

The sun rises over Cheng village as Ho Thi Hong, 20, walks the rows of her one-hectare coffee plot, checking leaves for pests. The small farm is the family's only source of income, supporting her, her toddler, and her mother-in-law. 

"Some years we have enough, other years we struggle," she says. Erratic rains, tired oil, and unpredictable coffee prices have made farming harder than when her parents worked the land.

Slow in Viet Nam demonstrates customised agroforestry layouts to farmers using a 3D model. © Slow

 

A new approach to farming

Hong is one of the farmers joining the Prosperous Farmers and Forests Partnership (PFFP). The project is part of the Danida Green Business Partnerships (DGBP) and is supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. It is a collaboration between Slow and WWF Viet Nam.

The partnership promotes agroforestry: growing coffee alongside trees and other crops to improve climate resilience and restore degraded land. 

By 2027, 2,500 hectares of single-crop coffee are planned for conversion to agroforestry. Slow in Viet Nam is responsible for 1,500 hectares, starting with 67 hectares in Huong Phung commune in 2025. WWF Viet Nam has so far supported 639 households in the commune, planting 74,945 shade trees across 952 hectares. In 2025, that includes 267 households planting 26,708 seedlings across 333 hectares. Progress is at an early stage compared with the overall target, but the transition has begun.

Learning new ways to farm

Through PFFP, Hong joined Coffee Talks, training sessions run by WWF Viet Nam and Slow. These cover pest control, fertiliser use, and the planting and care of coffee and shade trees.

In July 2025, she received shade tree seedlings and Arachis pintoi, a low-growing legume used as a cover crop to improve soil and suppress weeds. With guidance from field officers, she redesigned her farm into an agroforestry system.

"I feel happy, because these are things I can start to change," she says. "I've learned how to plant with the right spacing, apply lime to reduce soil acidity, and fertilise properly. Planting Arachis pintoi helps my soil and lowers the cost of clearing weeds."

In Cheng village, field staff coach Ho Thi Hong on planting shade trees that will protect her coffee, enrich the soil, and open new income opportunities. © Slow

 

Why agroforestry? 

Monoculture, or growing a single crop over large areas, can deliver high yields in the short term. Over time, it exhausts soils, reduces biodiversity, and leaves farms more exposed to pests, disease, and market shocks.

Agroforestry creates a more balanced system. Shade trees protect coffee plants from extreme heat and heavy rain. Their roots hold soil in place, reducing erosion. Cover crops like Arachis pintoi return nutrients to the soil and cut fertiliser costs. Fruit or nut trees can also bring in extra income.

"Seeing farmers reduce costs and increase yields is a good sign for the future," says Hoang Cong Phuc, Field Officer at Slow in Viet Nam. "This is the first stage of shifting from monoculture coffee farming to agroforestry. We can already see the potential benefits."  

For Hong, the benefits are already visible. “We will have more shade trees, protect our crops, improve our soil, and earn extra from fruit trees,” she says. “Our coffee yields should be higher and better in quality, while costs go down.”

Small steps toward a larger change

From the hillsides of Huong Phung to coffee cups far beyond Viet Nam, each agroforestry plot is part of a larger shift. The aim is to keep farming viable in a changing climate while supporting rural livelihoods.

Each plot supports biodiversity, resilience, and income alongside coffee.