Colombia has lost more than 40,000 hectares of coffee in recent years because coffee producers decided to abandon the industry as the price offer did not cover production costs. This agricultural asset which at the time placed Colombia as a leader in coffee production not only in volume but also in quality, today no longer has the same role.

 “Today we see coffee farmers who are starting to make the decision to abandon coffee farming and move to other crops. »

Some sources in the coffee industry in Colombia have estimated that some 25,000 families have abandoned coffee cultivation for other agricultural activities such as the production of avocados, citrus fruits or allocating their land to the tourism sector.

Today, Colombia needs a substantial change in the coffee production system, an organic and regenerative coffee culture that embodies the quality and distinction of Colombian coffee, the physical, biological and chemical interactions between the soil, biodiversity of flora and fauna, pathogenic compounds and natural regulators, productivity and quality of coffee production, tree growth and interactions with light and nutrient cycling, as well as climatological and microclimatic information linked to a new definitive and effective path will allow the development of a sustainable and profitable coffee culture.

The results confirm that full sun production systems, in particular those based on intensive and moderate chemical management, do not allow regenerative agriculture of soil living conditions, biodiversity connectivity, microclimate regulation and links to the pest and disease complex and, importantly, the potential for high carbon capture and reduction. Stating that a significant change in practices is important for a different and meaningful form of coffee culture around the world.

There are many trials and players involved in key processes that enable the use of appropriate associations of service trees (erythrins) with woody trees in combination with exotic coffee varieties, achieving high levels of productivity, diversification and, at the same time, multiple ecosystem services. Additionally, moderate conventional and organic management practices have been identified that contribute to the adaptation and mitigation of the coffee sector to climate change.

Creating and engaging in innovation dialogues that generate efficient crop production systems that can withstand biotic and abiotic stress, climate change, natural hazards, and geopolitical crises is necessary. We are convinced that agriculture in the future should produce food with less environmental impact and enhance the resilience of local and diverse agri-food systems to shocks and disruptions.

These key products thus transformed and associated with agro-related industries have a value that allows small, medium and large producers to compete not in quantity but in quality, thus covering the displacement of this agricultural activity called “Colombian Coffee Culture” reaching to transform it into a “smart and sustainable coffee with the climate” by guaranteeing economic players significant growth in income.

These opportunities have been seized on the scale required in Colombia in other parts of the world, such as Brazil, Malaysia and Vietnam, and have often been taken advantage of over relatively short periods of time. Processing conditions are starting to materialize in several countries by developing more engaging practices regarding soils and a more detailed vision of the final product.

 Smaller scale transformations are already underway, such as in the horticultural and agroforestry sectors in Ethiopia, Nicaragua and Brazil, respectively, there is a need to improve the culture of agricultural production in Colombia with a system of electronic wallet to facilitate the payment of subsidies for fertilizers and processing of coffee and other agricultural commodities that are a global impact factor with renowned labels, USD ORGANIC, CARBON SOIL, CERTIFIED REGENERATIVE, among others, it is possible to lead the way for major changes in Colombian agriculture.

Lessons learned over the years from traditional agricultural processes help shape this strategy. Successful transformations are driven by the company and consist of creating three simultaneous conditions:

      I. Large-scale dissemination of regenerative technology, practices and inputs that improve productivity, sustainability and product quality, as well as agroforestry partnerships that provide farmers with additional income from other complementary products in the framework of their agricultural development models;        

     II. Develop market structures for sustainable inputs such as biochar, products and incentives that realize the value of increased production, and,        

    III. A vibrant and thriving private sector that can manage and allocate skills and capital to increase the emerging success and long-term sustainable growth of agribusiness.        

The public sector has a key role to play

· To foster these conditions and enable businesses to prosper.      

· In cases of successful agricultural transformation:      

Liberalization of input markets, innovative financing, infrastructure development (production systems, storage and rural roads), as well as technologies and extension projects, particularly in the application of information and communication technologies. communication on climate-smart agriculture,

Opening up new ways to replicate these successes.

Promoting new ways to modernize value chains, and in an inclusive manner.

Behind all this, a political will for large-scale reform is required. This is particularly true in light of the crucial role of policy reform and the creation of an enabling environment for investment and private sector participation.

However, the political sector must become complicit with the government for these initiatives to make sense. The effective action plan, as expressed by small and large players in the private sector, is for the government a great ally where its participation will allow a system to be prosperous and balanced, the leaders must be equally willing to do so .