The University of Georgiais a respected research university.Thirty-five thousand studentsattend the main campus in Athens, Georgia,and extended campuses around the state.And among its areas of research is agriculture.UGA has a center in San Luis de Monteverde in Costa Rica.This center is for students and visitorswho want to learn more about farmingand living in environmentally friendly ways.Some students take a class called"Coffee: From Bean to Cup."Coffee is one of the most widely traded productsin the world, and the most importantagricultural product for Costa Rica.Professor Valerie Peters teaches the class.Her students help her study coffee farmsin an area called Finca la Bella.Farmers in this area agreedto grow their coffee sustainably,using methods that do less harm to the environment.Most coffee farms in Costa Ricahave one or two different kinds of treesto help shade the coffee plants from the sun.In Finca la Bella most farmshave at least twenty kinds of trees.Many of the farmers have also planted more flowers.When there are more flowers and more kinds of trees,more bees will come to pollinate the coffee plants.Coffee plants can pollinate themselves,but bees help increase the harvest.Professor Peters is working with her studentsto help teach farmers about the importance of beesand having more trees and flowers.she says, "Many of the farmers commented that they never even thought of bees as having a rolein their coffee production." Having more species of trees on coffee farmsalso provides more places for birds to live.If farmers have at least ten differentkinds of trees per hectare, they may be ableto have their coffee certified as "bird-friendly."This is done by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Centerin the United States.Bird-friendly coffee can sell for a higher price.The University of Georgia is also helping farmersin Costa Rica increase their income through tourism.Professor Quint Newcomer directs this program.He says students help design tour routes through coffee farms.QUINT NEWCOMER: "These farmers become our teachers.They are sharing their local knowledgeabout how to work the land in a really sustainable way,and they become the teachers.But then our students can also help provide themwith ideas and recommendationsabout how to improve their tour.And the more they improve it, the more people want to go."UGA Costa Rica, as the center is called, also plansto increase the amount of locally produced food it buys.The goal is to buyat least fifty percent locally by twenty-fifteen.And when the center needs wood for building,it buys only wood grown locally without artificial chemicals.And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.You can find more stories about coffee at 51voa.com,where you can also find texts and MP3s of our programs.