Nespresso and FNC unite to revive coffee farming in El Rosario, Nariño

The Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC), the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and Nespresso, have partnered to launch a pilot program to help revitalise coffee production in the municipality of El Rosario, in the Nariño Department of Colombia. The Howard G. Buffett Foundation has committed nearly US$2 million to improve coffee farms and community infrastructure in El Rosario, a municipality where illicit crops continue to be cultivated. The pilot program will work with 100 farmers to implement sustainable farming practices that facilitate the growth of high-quality coffee. Nespresso has committed to purchasing the coffee beans that these farmers will harvest. The partnership was announced on 28 May, following a meeting between Colombian President Iván Duque, Howard Buffett, Nespresso CEO Jean-Marc Duvoisin, and FNC CEO Roberto Vélez, at Casa de Nariño in Bogotá, Colombia. “Nariño’s fertile lands were once the undisputed provenance of the highest quality coffee, and they can be again,” President Duque says. “We welcome the strong involvement of the private sector, the strength of this partnership, and dedicated program to help restore the area back to a thriving coffee region with the highest levels of coffee production, contributing to a better quality of life for farmers in El Rosario. We hope similar efforts can exist in other regions of Colombia that are in need of change.” Read more:
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• The FNC on coffee’s desperate times
• Starbucks by Nespresso launches in May The pilot program aims to how quality coffee can improve the safety, economic stability, and well-being of farming communities. FNC says El Rosario is a mountainous area with steep inclines and is only accessed by an unpaved road of twists and turns along the edge of the Andes mountain range. In addition to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean and warm humid climate, FNC says Nariño benefits from an abundance of sunlight, ideal rainfall patterns, and rich volcanic soil, allowing for the cultivation of coffee at higher altitudes than in other parts of Colombia. These conditions produce high-quality coffee with a unique taste and aroma. FNC and the Howard G. Buffett Foundation are also supporting the development of needed in-home and community improvement projects. Through this program, the municipality will receive a new healthcare facility, coffee warehouse and community meeting space. Residents will have access to new water infrastructure for farming as well as to in-home filtration systems for drinking water. “Our investment in El Rosario builds on our two decades of experience supporting agriculture and promoting peace through development,” Howard G. Buffett says. “We hope our partnership with Nespresso and FNC will assist the Colombian government’s efforts to secure and develop the country’s rural areas and show how investments in smallholder farmers can help communities prosper through coffee rather than illicit crops.” Nespresso says its commitment to purchase the coffee harvested through the program in El Rosario builds on its sustainable coffee-sourcing efforts, work with Colombia’s farmers over the past 25 years, and long-standing partnership with FNC. “Nariño has a long connection with nurturing and cultivating an exceptional coffee crop, and generations of farmers have crafted some of the rarest and highest-quality Colombian coffee. However, coffee production has been in decline in El Rosario, so this is an exciting program for us to support as it builds on our work with farmers in Colombia and other countries to revive coffees from origins, which are under threat,” says Jean-Marc Duvoisin, CEO of Nespresso. “Through agronomy support and the premiums farmers earn by selling highest quality coffee, we help to provide long-term sustainability and resilience to coffee farming communities. We are committed to helping El Rosario reinvigorate their coffee production and, with it, the community’s pride.” Following the pilot phase in El Rosario, the partnership plans to extend the program across the Nariño region, with the potential to work with an additional 450 farmers. “We are proud to collaborate with the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and to continue our valued partnership with Nespresso,” said Roberto Vélez, CEO of the FNC. “The mission of the [FNC] is to improve the livelihoods of coffee farmers all over Colombia. Through this program, we will continue to support our farmers and their communities, as they focus on rebuilding their coffee crops and work together to create lasting change in El Rosario.” Global Coffee Report has launched a LinkedIn Showcase page. Follow HERE for up-to-date news and analysis of the global coffee industry.