In the rolling hills of Minas Gerais, Brazil’s coffee heartland, Carlos Pellicer represents the fourth generation of his family to grow coffee — and he’s already passed that legacy to his daughter, the fifth. At Mió Farm, Carlos blends tradition with innovation, turning coffee cultivation into a model of climate-smart agriculture.

Covering 2,300 hectares, with 700 hectares currently planted and plans to expand to 1,200 hectares producing 50,000 bags of coffee a year, Mió Farm is a thriving ecosystem as much as a business. The farm employs 110 permanent staff, swelling to 250 during harvest, and operates its own processing facility to ensure full control over quality and sustainability.

Every kilo of coffee grown at Mió Farm sequesters four kilos of carbon in the soil, thanks to Carlos' adoption of biological technologies such as K-Tionic, K-Fol, Foltron Plus, Raizal, Biozyme, and Cartarys, alongside composting, organomineral fertilisers, and urea complexed with K-Tionic, which cuts nitrogen use by 30%. Seedlings are intercropped with specific types of grass to protect and enrich the soil, while apiaries scattered across the farm both produce honey and serve as indicators of ecological health - proof that farming and bees can thrive together.

Carlos grew up on farms, studied agronomy, and began his journey with just 20 hectares, inherited from his grandfather. Through hard work and a deep respect for the land, he expanded the operation and built a research-driven enterprise known for exporting premium coffee to markets such as the United Kingdom.

Yet climate change brings new challenges: extreme temperatures and frost threaten yields, and even sustainable choices — like planting shade trees to protect the coffee — reduce density and profits. Still, Carlos continues to lead by example, proving that it’s possible to balance profitability with environmental stewardship.

Carlos shows that #AFarmerCan grow your morning coffee, and get the world up and running on the road to net zero.

Carlos herdou 20 hectares de seu avô em Monte Santo de Minas, no estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil. Apesar de enfrentar desafios como temperaturas extremas e geadas, ele expandiu a área para 2.300 hectares para cultivar café – uma cultura pela qual sua família tem grande paixão.

Utilizando práticas sustentáveis, como promover a polinização, compostagem, fertilizantes organominerais e biossoluções, além do plantio de capim braquiária para cobertura do solo, ele transformou sua fazenda em um sumidouro natural de carbono, grande e altamente eficaz.