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Developing Integrated Pest Management for Coffee Farms

Main TrackSustainable AgrifoodECOM
Up to S$6,500 in selected expenses
ECOM Agroindustrial Corp. Ltd (ECOM) is one of the largest and most successful service companies in coffee globally, sourcing, selling and delivering exceptional service across six continents. ECOM works with farmers and their communities to create sustainable value, improve livelihoods and provide global solutions that help farmers, our customers and our people on our collective journey to carbon neutrality. ECOM implements regenerative and climate-smart agriculture practices, promoting productivity, quality, and environmental protection across its sourcing regions.

The coffee berry borer (CBB) (Hypothenemus hampei) is one of the most destructive pests in coffee, causing US$400 million to 1 billion in global losses each year. It affects nearly all major coffee-growing regions, including ECOM’s sourcing networks in Vietnam, Indonesia, India, China, and Papua New Guinea.

Currently, ECOM employs a “Triple Action Integrated Pest Management” system combining:
  • Brocap traps - a patented technology co-developed with CIRAD (France and Indonesia) for trapping CBB adults
  • Biological control - spraying beauveria bassiana, a natural fungal predator that infects CBB
  • Crop sanitation - manual removal of infested cherries and cleaning of pulping/drying areas to limit pest migration

These methods are implemented across multiple origins, with varying adoption levels depending on local farmer capacity and resources.

Despite the above measures, periodic outbreaks still occur. The average infestation rate is 57% in most affected farms, and 41% in treatment farms with triple IPM application. The goal is to improve Integrated Pest ManagementI (IPM) efficiency, ideally through a simpler, lower-cost, and scalable nature-based solution.

Current IPM efficiency ranges between 50 and 90%, depending on how consistently farmers apply all recommended practices. ECOM hopes to identify innovations that can achieve similar effectiveness (approximately 90% reduction) through a single, easier-to-adopt product or practice, reducing dependence on multiple concurrent interventions.

How might we develop an integrated pest management solution that reduces coffee berry borer infestation rates more efficiently and sustainably?


Requirements


Technical Requirements:

  • Must be compatible with organic, regenerative, and certification standards ( Rainforest Alliance and 4C).
  • Must integrate with existing IPM practices: Brocap, Beauveria, and sanitation.
  • Must be scalable and adaptable across smallholder and estate farms.
  • Should not depend on synthetic pesticides or disrupt pollinators and natural predators.
  • Should ideally reduce labour demand while maintaining effectiveness, for example, automated traps, remote sensing, or targeted spraying.

Performance Requirements:

  • Must demonstrate equal or improved infestation reduction relative to the current IPM baseline (50 to 90%).
  • Should be easy to implement and standardise across different farm types and regions.
  • Must support pollinator health, soil quality, and overall farm biodiversity.
  • Performance will be measured via infestation rate per plot (physical sampling), with optional inclusion of yield and bean-quality indicators.

Financial Considerations:

  • Cost benchmark: Farmers currently spend US$50/ha on pest-management inputs and US$100/ha on IPM labour and operations.
  • These costs are borne by farmers, not ECOM; therefore, affordability and clear return on investment are crucial for adoption. Low-cost, pay-per-use, or service-based models are preferred to reduce upfront burden on smallholders.

Who Should Apply:

  • Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) is 5 to 8.

Potential Sustainability Impact:

  • Reduced pesticide dependency, improving pollinator and soil biodiversity
  • Lower labour requirements and improved smallholder income stability
  • Contributes to ECOM’s regenerative-agriculture goals by reducing agrochemical emissions and supporting long-term soil and water quality
  • Greater IPM efficiency also reduces post-harvest losses, indirectly lowering carbon intensity of coffee produced

POC / Pilot & Incentives


Expected POC / Pilot & Timeline:

  • POC / pilot location: Vietnam, where ECOM has the largest farmer network (around 6,000 smallholders) and established demo plots for pest-management testing
  • Phase 1 (2026): POC / pilot leveraging existing Brocap-testing infrastructure
  • Phase 2 (2027): Expansion to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea based on results
  • POC / pilot will measure infestation rates, pest-control efficiency (%), cost per hectare, and labour requirements


POC / Pilot Support:

  • ECOM will cover selected expenses up to S$6,500.
  • Access to POC / pilot site (demo plots)
  • Access to agronomic guidance
  • Access to data sets
  • Access to lab facilities
  • Support for product development

Further Opportunities:

  • A successful solution may be scaled across ECOM’s network in Vietnam, Indonesia, China, India, and Papua New Guinea.

Info Session 

Check out the recording from our Info Session, where Lidl & Kaufland Asia shared more about their challenge statement.

RESOURCES

Info Session Recording

Revisit the detailed presentation on this challenge statement from our virtual Info Session.



Next Steps

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