BOGOTA, Colombia – During the LXXX National Congress of Coffee Growers, the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) and ProColombia signed a new cooperation agreement that will help coffee growers escalate in the value chain, increase their income and benefit their families and their communities.
Signed by Maria C. Lacouture, President of ProColombia, and Luis G. Muñoz, CEO of the FNC, the agreement seeks to coordinate, promote and implement support initiatives for the export of industrialized and specialty coffee. The initiative targets individual producers, producer associations and micro and small companies that seek to reach the international market.
The agreement also encompasses a commitment between the parties to train and strengthen the corporate culture of export and production. This will be achieved through the coordination of information technology efforts and coffee grower capacity building.
The actions that the FNC and ProColombia will carry out in order to jointly design and implement projects and activities that facilitate the fulfillment of the objectives include:
Information exchange for the development of training workshops related to Denominations of Origin, Ingredient Branding Licenses, Café de Colombia Logo-Symbol, domestic and international coffee export regulations and opportunities that facilitate the export of industrialized coffee.
Strengthening the business sector by providing incentives to those who adapt their products through the training programs leaded by ProColombia.
ProColombia will provide support within companies in order to encourage them to meet the export requirements of the international MIPYME program and/or MiPyme International Specialty Coffees.
ProColombia will support micro and small coffee growers and medium size associations in promoting and identifying potential customers. This will be achieved through ProColombia’s domestic and international-led programs using academic, technical, technological or specialized resources.
Coordination of processes and use of technologies that optimize productivity and exports through knowledge applications and product sales.
Support of the export process in order to expand the supply of coffee derivatives and complementary products through the commitment of the FNC and ProColombia.
The partnership between the FNC and ProColombia has conducted 68 training seminars throughout the year. Nearly 7,000 coffee growers from 11 coffee growing departments have participated in the seminars.
Coffee growers have not only been trained on regulatory issues related to the use of origin denominations and trademark licenses, but also on how to face the challenges that every producer must consider when reaching the international market
