Colombia’s FNC General Manager Outlines Pillars of His Six-Year Administration
Coffee Network (Bogota) – After six years leading the Colombian coffee growers federation, Roberto Velez Vallejo outlined the four pillars of the coffee industry, which are centered in sustainability of Colombian coffee growing.
One of his key pillars has been ensuring profitability to coffee growers. Through the strategy: "More agronomy, more productivity, more quality" in conjunction with the Steering Committee, it is allowing a Colombian coffee growing productive and profitable.
Today, the average productivity increased 14.1%, from 17.7 bags per hectare in 2015 to 20.2 bags / ha until June 2021. The area planted with resistant varieties increased by almost 19%, from 70.8% in 2015 to 84.1% at the end of 2020. The average age of coffee plantations fell 4.2%, from 7.2 years in November 2015 to 6.9 years at the end of June.
Coffee quality
Since 2015, work has been deepened with coffee families to maintain the quality and differentiation of Colombian coffee, and so that all actors in the chain recognize its true value and the work of those who produce it.
The growing commercialization of specialty and value-added coffees resulted in the payment of premiums of USD 17.4 million in favor of producers in 2020. Premiums for sustainability standards in 2020 reached COP52.470 billion Colombian pesos ($US$13.80 million), benefiting 163,967 coffee growers.
In 2021, Almacafé implemented the Taza Móvil initiative, which seeks to reach all coffee regions through a vehicle conditioned as a laboratory that performs cup tests.
An innovative initiative that has become an important tool for coffee growers to receive feedback on the quality of their coffee, as well as to identify outstanding and exotic coffees from our country.
Freeze-coffee dried plant reaches more market
The lyophilization factory of the Colombian coffee growers Buencafé has also been a priority. In the last six years, new markets have been opened and the presence in existing ones has been deepened. In 2020, it closed with historical sales of almost 14,500 tons (53% more compared to 9,450 tons in 2015) and revenues of more than US$162 million (32% more than in 2015).
In 2019, an additional capacity of 2,000 tons of high-quality products came into operation (including the new Sensoria by Buencafé technology), for an installed capacity that exceeds 13,500 tons per year and has allowed the capture of new business and market opportunities.
Future sales, key tool to stabilize income
Roberto Velez also believes in stabilizing the producer's income. As result, future sales grew 89% between 2015 and 2020, from 16.3 million kg of cps to 30.8 million kg of cps.
From Shortfall to Surpus
The finances of the Coffee growers federation also improved during the past six years. The FNC budget at the central level went from a deficit of COP20.27 billion in 2016 to a surplus of COP226 million at the end of 2020. The budget of the departmental committees went from a deficit of COP 19.23 billion in 2016 to a surplus of COP669 million in 2020, the first time this has been achieved.
In addition, the approval of the National Committee of the Coffee Price Stabilization Fund (2020) became a reality, after several years of holding discussions about it.
FNC retakes national and international leadership
In these 6 years, the FNC has established itself as the most important union in the country - a model in most of its policies and sustainable actions -, while improving relations with other unions.
On the international scene, the FNC has once again played a leading role to achieve, through the joint responsibility of all the actors in the coffee chain, a better income for the 25 million coffee growers in the world.
Increase internal consumption
Domestic coffee consumption grew 6% on average each year between 2015 and 2020. And although that year in stores was affected by the pandemic, in homes it grew more than 10%.
New campaigns have contributed to this, such as those for highly differentiated coffees, and channels such as the virtual store Compracafedecolombia.com, a dream come true, in which coffee growers or owners of a brand of coffee with a designation of origin can sell online.
Environmental sustainability has been strengthened
The environmental management of the FNC has been a front that has gained strength during its administration: in 2020 it was raised, with the support of the Steering Committee, at the Directorate level to promote the care of natural resources and face climate variability, both in the coffee farms and in the organization.
More and more farms are reforesting and polluting less water. Soil care, biodiversity conservation and environmental education are other priority actions among producers. An example of this is that since 2015, more than 3,770 hectares have been established in conservation corridors.
In recent years, Buencafé has saved nearly COP6.7 billion by reusing waste and cisco as renewable fuel for boilers instead of natural gas.
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