Since September 2012, the Jamaican coffee industry has been grappling with the coffee leaf rust (CLR) epidemic caused by the fungal pathogen Hemileia vastatrix. The first widespread outbreak affected more than one third of coffee plants across the island, resulting in millions of dollars in lost revenues for the sector. The emergence and spread of the disease have been linked to a confluence of factors ranging from changing climatic conditions to impacts from extreme weather events, improper farm management practices, and institutional and market constraints that restrict control measures. In this article, we use the case of the CLR epidemic to illustrate how its emergence and continued presence in the Jamaican Blue Mountains is inextricably tied to the wider political–economic and ecological conditions under which coffee production takes place and how H. vastatrix’s complex pathogenesis makes the disease difficult to control. Drawing on an empirical study comprising household surveys, focus groups, archival research, and interviews, we demonstrate how smallholder farmers’ ability to manage rust impacts was severely compromised by ecological pressures, resource constraints, bounded knowledge systems, and market and regulatory limitations.

自2012年9月以来，牙买加咖啡行业一直在努力应对由真菌病原体Hemileia hugeatrix引起的咖啡叶锈病（CLR）流行。第一次大规模爆发影响了全岛超过三分之一的咖啡厂，导致该部门的收入损失了数百万美元。该病的发生和传播与多种因素融合在一起，从气候条件的变化到极端天气事件的影响，不适当的农场管理实践以及限制控制措施的机构和市场限制。在本文中，我们以CLR流行为例，说明其在牙买加蓝山山脉中的出现和持续存在与咖啡生产所处的更广泛的政治，经济和生态条件有着千丝万缕的联系，以及H.复杂的发病机制使该病难以控制。借助一项包括住户调查，焦点小组，档案研究和访谈的实证研究，我们证明了生态压力，资源限制，知识体系有限以及市场和法规限制严重损害了小农户应对锈病的能力。