Mitsubishi Donates to the Forester Families Program

Japanese company Mitsubishi Corporation has donated US$100,000 to the Forester Families Program during a meeting with the head of the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) in Bogota. Launched in 2008, the program is a joint initiative of the FNC, the Government of Colombia, local authorities, and other actors including Mitsubishi.      The Forester Families Program benefits 2,880 smallholder coffee producers throughout the regions of Nariño, Huila, Cauca, Tolima, Magdalena, La Guajira, Norte de Santander, Boyacá and Santander. It provides trainings and skills development to smallholder coffee growers and improves their post-harvesting procedures and infrastructure while preserving the environment.  In July 2008, the Mitsubishi Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Colombia and the FNC. The company agreed to support coffee growers from the department of Norte de Santander for a period of ten years with production infrastructure and environmental protection training. In May 2015, the Mitsubishi Corporation agreed to buy 550 high quality 70-kilo coffee bags (equivalent to 3 million cups) from 288 Norte de Santander coffee growers. This was considered a milestone given that Japan had traditionally been known for importing combined coffee. The Mitsubishi Corporation has expressed its commitment to continue supporting Colombian smallholder coffee producers in cooperation with the Colombian Government, the FNC and other relevant actors.