National Coffee Committee In Colombia To Decide Tomorrow Election Day of New FNC Manager
Bogota (Coffee Network )- The National Committee of Coffee Growers defined today the profile of the applicants for the position of general manager of the National Federation of Coffee Growers (FNC), while the election day will be announced tomorrow.
The coffee growers federation said the calendar of the election will be announced tomorrow, Wednesday February 1, through an open call that will be published on the page www.federaciondecafeteros.org.
The National Coffee Growers committee is comprised by the Finance Minister, the Agriculture Minister, the Commerce Minister and the director of the national planning department. Representatives from each of the 15 coffee departments will also attend. The National Coffee Growers Committee is a joint body that coordinates the country’s coffee policy.
The government was initially expected to hold the meeting on January 20, but the Finance Minister was not in Colombia as he is attending the Economic World Forum in Davos Switzerland.
As has been the tradition, in an environment of union unity, cordiality and hard work as a team to reach consensus, the session of the National Committee was held in which the 15 highest union representatives have a seat.
This committee is in charge of setting the course of the country's coffee policy, which which includes the definition of the profile of those who aspire to lead the FNC.
The new FNC manager is appointed by the National Congress of Coffee Growers from a shortlist also approved by the National Committee.
The Minister of Finance and Public Credit, José Antonio Ocampo, highlighted the importance of acting in consensus and that the next general manager
of the Federation has extensive managerial experience, including knowledge in international trade.
“The manager must have high-level managerial experience, of
least a decade in the public or private sector," said Ocampo, who
added: “I want to be clear that I see no other way forward on this
process but through consensus”.
"The general manager must unite, it is our responsibility, yours as coffee leaders and ours as a Government, not to allow under any circumstances that
come back moments that did so much damage to the coffee growers, to the Federation,” he added.
The president of the FNC Steering Committee, Jorge Alberto Posada, recalled the almost hundred-year history of the Federation and stressed that the general manager to be chosen will be the “centennial manager”.
“It is essential that the general manager have a domestic and global vision
to face the national and international challenges that lie ahead and
he has the ability to lead the Federation, upon reaching his first
centenary, to lead the sustainability and prosperity of families
coffee makers, and to continue projecting itself as a model organization at the national and international, even beyond 2027, when the institution
turns 100 years old”, highlighted the union leader.
People familiar with the situation said some coffee growers are pushing to have an FNC director from the Huila province, Colombia’s coffee-largest producing department.
Coffee Network heard of several potential candidates willing to head FNC, including Cesar Augusto Echeverry Castaño, former director of Tecnicafe, and current researcher at the International Center of Tropical Agriculture CIAT; Felipe Robayo, former commercial manager at the coffee growers federation; coffee expert Guillermo Trujillo among others.
In December, the general manager of the Colombia’s coffee growers federation has quit after the country’s first leftist president Gustavo Petro requested his resignation.
A recent article said Petro requested the resignation of Roberto Velez after the group lost millions in futures trading.
The Comptroller General’s Office is probing administrative omissions that led to losses of as much as US$120 million, which hurt the National Coffee Fund coffers and many growers and cooperatives, the newspaper El Pais said.
Velez has been the general manager of the coffee growers federation since 2015.
By Diana Delgado
