Farm 6 – El Mango
Assessment and Recommendations
July 2026
Background
El Mango is a small specialty coffee farm in the Huabal sector of Jaén, Peru.
The quality of the coffee is high and the farm has a meaningful biological infrastructure: a denser shade canopy than typical for the area (fig, mango, orange, avocado, guava on-site composting of coffee pulp, mechanical weed management, and an active on-farm nursery).
The farm owner values biodiversity and sustainability. He has noted his motivation for transitioning to regenerative coffee and participating with Falcon On-Farm as being to:
Maintain a sustainable farm in good condition. Preserve healthy, fertile soils. Protect biodiversity and wildlife. Improve coffee quality and access better prices.
General information
| Location | Cajamarca, Peru |
| Elevation | 1548 m asl |
| Total farm area | 2.0 ha |
| Project area | 2.0 ha |
| Varietal | Geisha and Catuai |
Assessment
Various pieces of information were collected to assess the current state of the farm and provide data on which to base next steps and recommendations for the transiting the farm to regenerative agriculture practices.
Site visits and interviews with the producers were conducted. Soil samples were collected and analyzed for both chemical and biological parameters.
Baseline surveys were conducted to gather information on farm management techniques such as fertilizer and pesticide use, pruning and renovation methods and incidence of pest and diseases.
Existing strengths of the farm
The farm has a great foundation that will further benefit from regenerative practices. The list below highlights some of its strengths.
Premium Quality Geisha
86 point naturals and 85 washed. The premium market is already won.
Shade Trees Present Already
5 species every 15 m (fig, mango, orange, avocado, guava): much more shade than the typical farm.
Microbes are Already Stopping Fungi
BeCrop score 71%: Soil life already tends to suppress rust and anthracnose.
Wide Variety of Soil Life
797 species of microbes: the largest variety of all Peruvian farms evaluated for the project.
Aluminum under Control
566 ppm, well below 800 ppm where it becomes toxic.
Phosphorus in the Soil
185 lb/acre in reserve. The phosphorus is there: the problem is that it is trapped, not that it is missing.
Areas for improvement
El Mango’s central constraint is not nutrient supply, it is nutrient availability. Phosphorus reserves exist in the soil but are locked up; calcium is present but declining; the biology is diverse but functionally suppressed. The intervention strategy works by re-balancing the soil chemistry, restoring the biological partnerships, and adding the erosion infrastructure that will be necessary as climate-driven rainfall events intensify.
The soil is becoming acidic
The pH is at 5.9 and the reserve acidity is at 18%: the soil is on its way to becoming acidic. If left uncorrected, in 3–5 years the pH will drop to 5.3–5.5 and the aluminum will become toxic to the roots.
Reserve acidity 18% · Target 10–15%
Phosphorus is trapped
There’s 185 lb/ac of phosphorus in reserve, but the plant can only take in 0.14 ppm today—aluminum has the phosphorus tied up. Zinc is lacking (2.3 ppm; target 4–20), and without zinc the plant absorbs phosphorus poorly.
Available P 0.14 ppm · Zn 2.3 ppm
The slope is unprotected
The slope is 16–30% and the ground is bare. Today there is no erosion, but heavy rains brought by climate change will wash away any part without coverage.
Slope 16–30%
Recommendations and Next Steps
Based on the findings from the assessment, the following phased recommendations have been outlined that will rebalance soil chemistry, provide cover and protection from soil erosion and enhance this biologically healthy ecosystem for the coffee to thrive. The recommendations will be discussed with the farm owners this summer and implementation is set to start in the fall.
Phase 1 (first 6 months)
• Amend soils with calcium, zinc and boron
• Inoculate AMF (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi) in the nursery
• Drawing contour lines for planting Flemingia and vetiver
• Apply Trichoderma to trees and seedlings
Phase 2 (6-18 months)
• Replace Molimax 20-20-20 with K₂SO₄
• Increase compost to 6–10 kg/plant/year
• Sow Arachis and Desmodium
• Plant hedges of Flemingia and Cajanus
• Apply Beauveria for coffee berry borer
• Apply Bacillus subtilis foliar
• Lower Race RM from 3× to 2× per year
• Planting more guava (+25–35 per ha)
Phase 3 (18-36 months)
• Lower nitrogen fertilizer by 30–50%
• Lower Race RM from 2× to 1× per year
• Cut and spread the Desmodium
• Prune Flemingia to regrow
• Sow capirona, avocado and macadamia
• Prune of Inga and Erythrina formation
• Check for phosphorus; Phosphate rock if <1 ppm
• Repeat soil and biological analysis
Summary
El Mango sits in a more complex chemical and biological position than its neighbors: pH 5.9 and 18% exchangeable hydrogen indicate the soil is drifting toward acidification; 185 lbs/acre Mehlich III phosphorus is locked rather than absent; zinc and boron are both deficient; AMF presence is functionally zero; and the 16–30% slope demands erosion infrastructure regardless of current observable damage.
The 797-species microbiome carries high biodiversity and a useful natural bias toward fungal disease suppression but a corresponding weakness in insect regulation.
The strategy: arrest the acidification drift with modest calcium amendment (Principles 1, 3 of Regenerative Coffee); restore AMF to unlock the existing phosphorus reserve (Principle 1); correct zinc and boron to protect the Geisha quality position (Principles 1, 2); install contour infrastructure to stabilize the slope before climate intensification tests it (Principle 4); and densify the already-strong shade canopy to push toward 35–40% coverage and 50–70 kg N/ha/year biological fixation (Principles 2, 5).
Within three to five years, El Mango can operate as a predominantly biologically driven specialty Geisha system with stabilized soil chemistry, reduced synthetic input dependency, and protected slope integrity.
Assessment, Recommendations and Summary text and diagrams courtesy of Sam Knowlton, Soil Symbiotics