Roberto Vélez, c.e.o. of the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC), is championing a new forum for coffee producers that will bring representatives from 40 countries to the inaugural gathering July 10-12, 2017.
The World Coffee Producers Forum (WCPF) will convene in Medellín, Colombia, but Vélez said the venue will rotate among producing countries with Vietnam next in line.
At FNC’s annual breakfast meeting during the National Coffee Association convention, Vélez talked about the issues that producers face in common.
“The forum seeks to foster sustainability from seed to cup and identify strategies to achieve better distribution of value and responsibility among all actors of the coffee chain,” he said.
Among the more important considerations are the economic sustainability of producers, rural development, climate change adaptation, price volatility, generational change, and co-responsibility in the value chain.
Exporters, importers, roasters, traders, certifying agencies, and all other people invested in the health of the coffee industry have a stake in these outcomes, he said.
Learn more: www.worldcoffeeproducersforum.com