Jamaica's Blue Mountains are heralded as one of the world's premier coffee growing regions. Previous ecological research in Jamaica has demonstrated that shade-grown coffee practices provide beneficial ecosystem services for farmers, yet most coffee farms in the Blue Mountains have very little shade. The socio-ecological factors that influence coffee cultivation choices in Jamaica have not been analysed. Using chains of explanation, the aim of this project was to unearth the political, economic and ecological drivers and constraints that inform and influence farmers' decisions for intercropping shade trees amongst their coffee plants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted on farm-sites in the three parishes of the Blue Mountains: Portland, St. Andrew, and St. Thomas. Results from this project reveal that the human-environment interactions of coffee producers are impacted by the interplay of on-farm, on-island, and global forces. This necessitates reframing the value of ecosystem services provided by shade trees into a cohesive argument that resonates with Jamaican coffee industry specialists and the specific regional socio-ecological needs of Blue Mountain coffee farmers. Priorities for change should include: encouraging communities to re-learn the benefits and applications of organic soil fertility and the values of shade trees while exposing farmers to marketing research and strategies for pursuing conservation of coffee niche markets.

中文翻译：

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浓咖啡的政治生态：牙买加蓝山农民的观点

牙买加的蓝山被誉为世界上主要的咖啡种植区之一。牙买加先前的生态研究表明，遮荫种植咖啡的做法为农民提供了有益的生态系统服务，但蓝山山脉的大多数咖啡农场遮荫很少。尚未分析影响牙买加咖啡种植选择的社会生态因素。使用解释链，该项目的目的是发掘出政治，经济和生态的驱动因素和制约因素，这些因素会影响并影响农民决定在其咖啡植物间种植遮荫树的决定。在蓝山三个教区的波特兰，圣安德鲁和圣托马斯的农场进行了半结构化访谈。该项目的结果表明，咖啡生产者的人与环境互动受到农场，岛屿和全球力量之间相互作用的影响。这就需要将由遮荫树提供的生态系统服务的价值重新定义为具有凝聚力的论点，以引起牙买加咖啡行业专家和蓝山咖啡农户特定区域社会生态需求的共鸣。改变的重点应包括：鼓励社区重新学习有机土壤肥力的好处和应用以及遮荫树的价值，同时使农民接受市场研究和追求保护生态位市场的策略。这就需要将由遮荫树提供的生态系统服务的价值重新定义为具有凝聚力的论点，以引起牙买加咖啡行业专家和蓝山咖啡农户特定区域社会生态需求的共鸣。改变的重点应包括：鼓励社区重新学习有机土壤肥力的好处和应用以及遮荫树的价值，同时使农民接受市场研究和追求保护生态位市场的策略。这就需要将由遮荫树提供的生态系统服务的价值重新定义为具有凝聚力的论点，以引起牙买加咖啡行业专家和蓝山咖啡农户特定区域社会生态需求的共鸣。改变的重点应包括：鼓励社区重新学习有机土壤肥力的好处和应用以及遮荫树的价值，同时使农民接受市场研究和追求保护生态位市场的策略。