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Yang mentioned that Pu’er is facing some challeng-
es due to its long history of farming, such as the aging
of some coffee plants and the worrying nutritional
status of soil, which may make good coffee impossible.
After taking over the estate, the first thing occurred to
him was to restore the biodiversity, such as replacing
chemical pesticide weeding with manual weeding and
planting more shade trees to improve coffee quality. On
the recent frequent disease and insect damage which
has seriously affected some bases nearby, “People in the
river valley should truly thank Nestlé, no kidding, for
the shade trees they planted well back then. In the area,
the pests and diseases are minimal and the vegetation
is very good,” Yang said.
Many young farmers have realized the rough growing
method in the past is not conducive to sustainability, and
started to take actions. In response to haphazard fertili-
zation, many farms began to do soil tests for different
plots via scientific methods, and then formulated fertiliz-
ers according to the results. The way fertilizer is applied
has also changed, as the estates regain confidence from
the bright prospect; they have invested in trials of new
equipment and farming technology, such as replacing
original manual fertilizer application with Agriculture &
Lincang Autumn Amber (Qiupo) Estate Spraying Drones, a way helping to improve efficiency
while reducing high labor costs. In some coffee fields in
Yunnan, weather monitoring stakes called “electronic
scarecrows” are also installed, reflecting local efforts to
collect soil and weather data via modern digital devices,
which assists farmers in field management.
In addition to modern equipment, Guiben Plantation
in Yiwu is addicted to Biodynamic farming. The estate
Not far from Mei Zi’s home, the Yeyatang River owner Lan Tiancai said he once visited many coffee fields
Valley Estate is also in the hands of a young owner. Yang and felt the “yield first” concept has made people gradual-
Hongjian, born after 1990, is also the third generation of ly forget the essence of agriculture. Due to the blind pursuit
his family coffee business. In 2020, he quitted his job as of more convenient management mode, the organic ferti-
a teacher and took over the estate; now, he is also prepar- lizer has been replaced by simple and labor-saving indus-
ing for the integration of the three industries. As he told trial fertilizers; in the long term, it can contribute to soil
us, he spent the past year on the renovation of the coffee acidification and soil crust, thereby reducing the biomass
plantation, in order to make sure visitors can find fun and of soil organisms, which can directly affect the plant root’s
nice food here. In the estate, thousands of fruit trees are absorption of nutrition and ultimately worsen the coffee
newly planted, including pineapple, bell fruit and grape- flavor. Therefore, he believes that the biggest advantage of
fruit, in addition to tens of thousands of ornamental plants. Biodynamic farming is “its rich bacterial colony, which will
He has also initiated the coffee volunteer program, which bring benefits to coffee plants one after another!” In the
has completed more than twenty sessions, attracting more plantation, we also saw a field with Pacamara coffee plants
than a hundred volunteers to experience life at origin. less than four years old. In addition to the rich vegetation
Yang hopes to team up with coffee estates in Simao District cover on the ground, banana and mango trees are used as
in the future to do further volunteer projects. He also shade trees and also for generating more income. With
plans to welcome college students to do research, as a way organic fertilizer fermented from sugar cane water, soybean
to make up for the lack of data related to coffee origin and milk, seaweed powder, milk and other organic matter, the
offer cultural endorsement for Yunnan coffee. plants can thrive on this land. Yeyatang River Valley Estate

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