Colombia – USAID Specialty Coffee Program

LEVERAGING PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS TO INCREASE COFFEE GROWERS’ INCOMES

ACDI/VOCA implements the 4.5-year, $7.8 million USAID Specialty Coffee Program. The program provides support to the Colombian coffee sector and provides licit economic alternatives to rural families.

Program Builds Coffee Competitiveness

Through the program, ACDI/VOCA develops networks of Colombian and international partners and collaborators and leverages resources from public-private partnerships to strengthen the specialty coffee value chain in Colombia.

The program has three main objectives:

• Increase competitiveness of Colombian specialty coffee
• Develop environmental, social and economic sustainability
• Assist and strengthen Colombian institutions

As of December 2010, the program had strengthened 133 buying points through technical assistance, personnel and upgraded equipment. Over 1.7 million more bags of specialty coffee were exported in 2010 than in 2006. Producer incomes have increased an average of 16 percent and 28,630 families have benefitted from the assistance provided through this program.

The current program provides assistance at key points along the specialty coffee value chain, focusing in particular on strengthening institutions that participate in the sector’s market activities and supporting coffee growers and their local organizations. ACDI/VOCA helps institutions upgrade capacity, carry out structural improvements and introduce sustainability in their routine activities. The program helps producers through training in product-quality maximization, productivity enhancement and commercialization techniques.

Public-Private Alliances Extend Program’s Reach

The program has entered into several Global Development Alliances with private sector companies, including the Coffee Quality Institute, Nespresso and its AAA Sustainable Quality Program, Sustainable Harvest, and Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea. These companies provide resources and commercial and technical guidance. The program has also leveraged resources from Colombian government agencies such as Acción Social and Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje (SENA), which provide cash resources and guidance.

Through these various alliances, the program has been able to leverage over $10 million dollars, which has enabled the program to reach a greater number of beneficiaries and to geographically expand the areas of assistance. Since 2010 the program has been working in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region, providing assistance to several indigenous farmer groups and internally displaced people who are returning to their homes.

This program builds on ACDI/VOCA’s 2002-2007 Specialty Coffee Program, which provided smallholder Colombian coffee farmers with the skills and capacities needed to improve coffee quality, increase incomes and connect to high-value markets. The USAID Specialty Coffee Program contributes to USAID Consolidation and Livelihood Objectives.

For more information, contact Nicole Chao-Villegas at nchao-villegas@acdivoca.org.

Updated: 8/11

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