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Science in Colombia
Right, Nestor Riano describes an agrometeorological station to a group of ASIC attendees on tour at Cenicafé. / Photo courtesy of Colombian Coffee Growers Federation
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Science in Colombia
ASIC board members during opening ceremonies. / Photo courtesy of Colombian Coffee Growers Federation
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Science in Colombia
ASIC attendees on tour at Cenicafé. / Photo by Jenny Neill
With nearly 600 registered attendees from 87 countries, it is no surprise the 25th International Conference on Coffee Science (ASIC 2014) set new attendance records. The event took place in Armenia, Colombia in Quindio, one of Colombia’s coffee-farming departments.
Luis G. Muñoz, c.e.o. of the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation, set the tone for much of the week’s discussion in his opening remarks. He spoke of sustainability challenges when he said, “I encourage you to go beyond programs and ideas to be implemented in the long term. I encourage you to think about how we are going to act, about how we are going to implement the innovations you are working for and benefi the thousands of communities around the world that rely on coffee.”
Fernando Gast, director of the National Coffee Research Center (Cenicafé), also talked about the sustainability strategy of Café de Colombia in his keynote presentation as part of the inaugural ceremony.
Gast started by presenting some characteristics of Colombian coffee growing, including the increasing challenges of climate variability and the effects that El Niño and La Niña have on production volumes. He spoke of how Cenicafé organizes its work and seeks to ensure sustainability of coffee cultivation. The organization does this through two essential programs: “Coffee and Climate Variability” for developing adaptation strategies and “Production & Productivity,” for creating strategies to increase Colombian coffee productivity and quality.
Attendees packed the main room during all four days of presentations. Colombian scientists, of course, were a strong presence at this conference and that meant many researchers from Cenicafé presented updates on their projects. Topics included prediction models using near infrared spectroscopy for 12 chemical compounds related to coffee quality; coffee’s genetic map associated with performance, bearing, and fruit size; development of improved rust resistant coffee varieties (Colombia, Tabi, and Castillo); and the plasticity of hybrids derived from crosses of Caturra and Timor Hybrid with wild Ethiopian accessions under different sun and shade conditions.
In email correspondence following the conference, STiR Tea & Coffee International asked Ana Maria Sierra, executive coordinator of Toma Café, how the themes that emerged from presentations at ASIC 2014 will influence her work in the coming year. Sierra said, “[Most] of the presented physiological studies are already part of our scientific communication plan for this year and 2015. Sustainability is also a key topic for Programa Toma Café and ASIC 2014 allowed us to learn more about the challenges currently facing the industry.”