Q&A: Roberto Vélez of the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation

by

BOGOTA, Colombia

In August economist Roberto Vélez was elected to lead the 550,000 families that comprise the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC). The new c.e.o. garnered a unanimous vote following a regimented selection process that began July 2. One of 19 applicants, he was shortlisted to a group of 8 by FNC’s Coffee Growers Steering Committee. FNC, along with the National Coffee Growers Committee, agreed upon the final three candidates July 21. Vélez was elected Aug. 12 by 90 coffee grower representatives during the LXXXI National (Extraordinary) Congress of Coffee Growers. Delegates to the Congress where elected last year. He replaces Luis G. Muñoz who resigned in May.

By Dan Bolton

Vélez graduated from the Universidad del Rosario (Colombia) in 1983, with postgraduate education at the University of Brighton, in England, and New York University.

The son of coffee growers in Pereria, Vélez worked 20 years with FNC, beginning in 1985 and serving in many positions including director of Asian operations. He eventually rose to the position of chief commercial officer. In 2008 he left FNC to work for the federal government and served as ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, then Malaysia and most recently as Colombia’s ambassador to Japan.

In his acceptance speech he reaffirmed the basic mission of improving the livelihood of Colombia’s coffee growers. “Coffee growers are the driving force behind all of our actions,” he told the delegates. He is the eleventh c.e.o. to serve.

STiR: As the new c.e.o. will you share your vision of FNC?

Vélez: Our vision is to consolidate the Colombian coffee growing families’ social development, while guaranteeing the sustainability of the coffee growing business and the positioning of Colombian coffee as the best in the world.

STiR: What are your main priorities?

Vélez: At the previous Colombian Coffee Growers Congress a new 2015-2020 Strategic Plan was developed to achieve a sustainable coffee industry through four strategic areas: economic, social, environmental and institutional. I will add my own emphasis on some of these initiatives, but we clearly have an institutional road map with key performance indicators.

STiR: Colombia is known for its outstanding specialty grade arabica. How will you continue to advance quality?

Vélez: We have to be at the forefront of innovation in quality. We will leverage Cenicafe´s deep understanding of the plant and our environment to enhance quality attributes, and incorporate this knowledge in new ways of optimizing quality and developing new varieties.

STiR: Share your view on the Misión Cafetera’s recommendations for reform and its challenge to FNC’s purchase guarantee. Is deregulation a viable option?

Vélez: The Mision has different recommendations that we are evaluating. The one we do not agree with is sacrificing the purchase guarantee policy. The objective of making sure that all coffee growers, no matter where they are and what quantity they are selling, can find a viable buyer for their beans at market prices and be paid in cash is still a key component of our services to growers and the envy of producers in other countries.

STiR: What are your environmental priorities?

Vélez: We aim to fully implement FNC’s climate smart coffee growing strategy and manage environmental resources efficiently in order to achieve a coffee industry that adapts and combats climate change and variability.

STiR: What is your position on initiatives to differentiate and add value to Colombia’s coffee?

Vélez: Adding value and differentiation are certainly key aspects for Colombia´s coffee growers´ profitability. We can add value in several ways, not only on quality and knowledge but also in our ability to deliver sustainability indicators and more knowledge of the coffee we are selling. Colombia has played and will continue to play a key role in generating value for both producers and consumers and we will continue to uphold this commitment.

STiR: Climate change and variability have greatly affected coffee producing countries. What can FNC do to address this issue?

Vélez: During the past five years, FNC has focused its efforts on changing coffee trees for more productive and rust-resistant varieties through ambitious plant renovation programs reaching all over Colombia. These efforts, which have resulted in renovating more than three billion coffee trees, have improved the productive capacity of nearly 550,000 small coffee growers. In fact, FNC renovation is an international reference for fellow coffee producers and other agricultural producers of perennial crops around the world.

Additionally, FNC’s r&d center, Cenicafe, developed the agro-climatic platform, which allows any producer to know in almost real time the fluctuation of temperature within their region. For example, growers can be warned of the need to institute pest controls.

STiR: What are some ways FNC prioritizes the well-being of Colombia’s coffee growers and guarantees the competitiveness of Colombia’s coffee industry?

Vélez: FNC employs a 1,500-strong extension service, which provides technical support and assistance to coffee growers throughout Colombia. Due to renovation there are more than 420,000 coffee growers with more resistant varieties. Coffee growers benefited from increased production and revenue, improving their quality of life. The Colombian model of teaching coffee growers to employ more sustainable practices is one that has spread throughout the country, leading to a more competitive and technologically advanced industry.

STiR: Nowadays, consumers are more conscious of the products they are purchasing and the importance of sustainability. How does FNC prioritize sustainability?

Vélez: All FNC initiatives revolve around sustainability, which is a long-term and permanent goal that has economic, environmental and social implications. FNC has been committed to the sustainability of the coffee industry for the last 88 years. Our challenge, however, is to create an unprecedented sustainability model for the industry. We are in the process of developing a sustainability manifesto that will solidify Colombia as the first coffee producing country with a sustainability policy in place.

FNC places emphasis on sustainability. We recognize that there are many vulnerabilities that could potentially affect the coffee industry and coffee growers. We need to work diligently to be prepared for unforeseen risks, ensuring that the Colombian coffee industry will continue to thrive for future generations.

STiR: How has FNC contributed to the pacification of Colombia’s regions?

Vélez: Coffee has undoubtedly been a socially and economically stabilizing factor that has significantly contributed to the pacification of Colombia’s coffee region. FNC has played a key role in the execution of development programs and the building of social capital to improve the standard of living and the social stability of many coffee growing regions, which today are the most prosperous and least violent areas of rural Colombia.

FNC’s efforts to promote peace in the coffee regions can serve as a model for other institutions in the context of the current peace process that the Colombian government and the country’s largest left-wing rebel group are negotiating, and in an eventual post-conflict scenario.

STiR: What kind of support system does FNC work with and how will that help you achieve your goals?

Vélez: FNC works closely with Colombian government entities including the presidency, the ministry of agriculture and rural development, the ministry of education, as well as other institutions such as SENA, departmental governments and municipalities. International partners include: The IADB, a number of coffee brand and clients, NGO´s such as Better than Cash Alliance, as well as the government of the Netherlands, among others. This network helps provide support for the many initiatives we carry out on a regular basis.

STiR: What do your foresee as the main challenges during your tenure?

Vélez: We have to work on reducing risks for coffee growers, which in turn create the conditions for coffee growers becoming unprofitable. Climate change and variability is also an impending threat to all coffee growing regions; however, we are more prepared than most to face these challenges head on due to the developments of Cenicafe. Finally, we have to provide the conditions for making sure the next generation of coffee growers have a good quality of life, which will ensure that we continue growing the highest quality coffee in the world.