By: Diana Delgado, Contractor
Bogotá (Coffee Network) – Colombia, the world’s third-largest coffee producer, has undergone significant structural changes in its coffee sector over the past decade, according to Coffee Farming in Motion: Patterns and Motivations Associated with Coffee-Growing Mobility, a study authored by the chief economist of the National Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) and a team of economists.
The total area planted with coffee declined from 921,069 hectares in 2011 to 842,399 hectares in 2023—a net reduction of 78,670 hectares. Over the same period, 204,574 farms, or 29% of those operating in 2011, exited coffee production. While 157,441 farms entered the sector—equivalent to 23.9% of those active in 2023—the balance resulted in a net loss of 47,133 coffee-producing holdings.
In 2011, coffee farming encompassed 705,658 farms, with an average size of 1.30 hectares. By 2023, SICA data showed the number of farms had fallen to 658,525, with a slightly smaller average size of 1.28 hectares. The total area of coffee farms also contracted, declining from 3.1 million hectares in 2011 to 2.9 million hectares in 2023.
Demographic trends point to a smaller and older coffee-growing population. The number of active coffee growers fell 4% to 519,969 in 2023, down from 541,208 in 2011. During the same period, the share of older adult producers rose sharply from 25.7% to 36%, pushing the average age of growers from 50.4 years to 54.5 years. The study notes that this shift reflects not only natural population aging but also a qualitative change driven by the entry and replacement of older producers.
At the same time, women’s participation in coffee production increased. Female producers accounted for 31% of growers in 2023, up from 27.7% in 2011, while the share of households headed by women rose from 19.4% to 29.9%. Educational attainment also improved, with average years of schooling increasing from 3.4 to 5.3.
Household dynamics have continued to evolve. The average size of a coffee-growing household declined from four members to 3.6, the total population living in coffee households fell from 1.9 million to 1.8 million, and the share of coffee households located in urban areas increased from 22.4% to 24.2%. The report highlights sustained trends toward smaller households, higher education levels, growing urbanization, and an expanding leadership role for women.
Production
Despite the contraction in cultivated area, coffee production rose markedly. Annual output increased from 7.8 million 60-kg bags in 2011—when production was hampered by adverse weather and coffee leaf rust—to 11.3 million bags in 2023, a 45% increase
Annual production rose from 7.8 million 60-kg bags in 2011—when output was affected by adverse weather conditions and diseases such as coffee leaf rust—to 11.3 million bags in 2023, an increase of 45%. This growth was supported by a coffee-growing area increasingly planted with disease-resistant varieties, which expanded from 42.7% to 87%, a reduction in the average age of coffee trees from 9.5 years to 6.8 years, and an increase in average planting density from 5,095 plants per hectare to 5,323 plants per hectare.
Production by region
Between 2011 and 2023, the South of Colombia was the only region to expand its cultivated area, adding 27,185 hectares, increasing from 355,552 hectares in 2011 to 382,737 hectares in 2023. This region—comprising the departments of Cauca, Huila, Tolima, and Nariño—was home to just over half of the country’s coffee growers (51.4%) by 2025 and accounted for 46.4% of national coffee production. In contrast, the Coffee Belt—made up of Antioquia, Caldas, Risaralda, Quindío, and Valle del Cauca, where 27.9% of coffee growers reside and which contributes 33.8% of total production—experienced the sharpest decline in cultivated area nationwide. The region lost 84,724 hectares, shrinking from 371,130 hectares to 286,406 hectares over the period.
By Diana Delgado
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