When to plant Arabica coffee in Belas (Samba)

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Arabica coffee

Luanda, Angola

Known here as café

Arabica is the cool-highland coffee — a small evergreen tree kept pruned to about your own height (1.5–2 m) so you can pick standing on the ground.

Arabica coffee in Belas (Samba), rain-fed and with irrigation
Fit Favourable
When to plant (establish) 21 Jan 2026 – 1 Jan 2027 open now
Expected harvest about 1.3 t/ha
Bearing cycle 210–270 days per crop once the plant is established. Planting to the first harvest takes longer than one cycle.
Work it takes 140–280 days per hectare, by hand

Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.

If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 1 Jan 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

This season's rainfall outlook for Belas (Samba) is close to normal, so these dates match the pattern the area usually follows.

Planting after 1 Jan 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Belas (Samba)

Rain and temperature 60%
The soil 96%
The lie of the land 88%

For arabica coffee in Belas (Samba), rain and temperature is the tightest of the three at 60%. This one is fixed. It is why the planting window above is where it is — hitting those dates is the whole of your control here.

The 2026/27 season in Belas (Samba)

Rainy seasonsOne each year — one chance to plant, so timing carries it
When the rains are expectedOctober 2026 to May 2027
Rain in a typical yearAbout 723 mm
This season's rainRain close to usual — plan around about 723 mm falling roughly when it always does
What that supportsenough rain for one full main crop, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season
Ground this covers2 kinds of ground. The season below is the largest that farms — about 83% of this area.
Agro-ecological zones covering this area
83% enough rain for one full main crop; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 218 growing days · about 710 mm · October to May
17% enough rain for one full main crop; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 217 growing days · about 660 mm · October to June

last updated 16 September 2026

What arabica coffee needs to grow here

Soil it likes well-drained sandy loam, loam or clay loam soil
Soil sourness (pH) Happiest between pH 5.0 and 6.0
Spacing 200 cm between rows, 200 cm between plants
Feed it most with potassium, zinc and boron

What it takes to grow arabica coffee in Belas (Samba)

Planting materialAbout 2,000 plants per hectare
Nitrogen (N)About 52 kg per hectare
Phosphate (P₂O₅)About 6 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)About 69 kg per hectare
In the shopsA basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established.
Hand work140–280 days per hectare, by hand

These are the nutrients a arabica coffee crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.

What to watch for

Pest/disease risk — manageableSoil pH outside the crop's rangeCorrect soil pH (acidifier)

Grow Arabica coffee with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Belas (Samba) as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.

Or check your field first

This calendar moves

Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.

Frequently asked questions

Will arabica coffee grow well in Belas (Samba)?

Belas (Samba) rates as favourable for arabica coffee.

When should I plant arabica coffee in Belas (Samba)?

Typically 21 Jan 2026 to 1 Jan 2027, forecast-adjusted.

Is this exact for my own field?

No — these are readings taken across Belas (Samba), not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.

Also worth considering in Belas (Samba)

Keep going

Timing is one question. What the crop needs at every stage, what attacks it and where to sell it are the others.