LONDON, UK – The unprecedented social and economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on people living condition, world economies and supply chains is devastating. In addition, Honduras and Nicaragua faced two dramatic natural disasters in 2020 with hurricanes hitting their land and affecting their coffee producing areas, furthering the economic and humanitarian crisis.
To express solidarity with the two of its Members, the ICO immediately responded by mobilising the interest and support of development and financial partners both from the public and private sector including ICO Members, other international organizations and donors, the private sector, regional organizations and financial institutions such as the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB).
The ICO appeal to its partners to help rebuild resilience and promote recovery in the Central American region in the aftermath of the hurricanes generated several actions in the field.
More specifically, the ICO engaged with the CABEI that decided to fund a full appraisal of the impact of climate-related shocks in these countries and help designing a programme to address the challenges and build on existing opportunities to create a resilient and inclusive coffee sector.
Today, the Executive President of the CABEI Dante Mossi, Ambassador Iván Romero-Martínez (Honduras), Ambassador Guisell Socorro Morales Echaverry (Nicaragua), and ICO Executive Director José Sette sign a joint Communiqué to officially start “Building a resilient coffee value chain to mitigate climatic disasters and covid-19 pandemic in Honduras and Nicaragua”.
As a collaboration and partnership between the CABEI and the ICO, the assessment study will be the basis to develop, finance and implement a concrete programme for helping the two countries to build a sustainable and inclusive recovery of coffee production.
