Peru, Cajamarca

Developing sustainable perspectives for producers of high quality Coffee

Quickfacts

Key Results
Project Description	The ICP project was linked to a regional rural development project of GTZ and KfW and focused on key problems of smallholder coffee farmers in Northern Peru, non existent quality management, inadequate farm practices and weak organisations without sufficient market access.
Beneficiaries	300
- Competitiveness	New market opportunities have opened up for small-scale farmers based upon sound quality management, best practices and marketing structures
- Living Conditions	Higher living conditions through improved income
- Environmental Conditions	Farmers apply sustainable methods in coffee production
Project Duration	September 2004 - August 2007
International Partners	International Coffee Partners (ICP), German Development Agency (GTZ), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW)
Local Partners	FADENOR, CENFROCAFE, COICAFE

Results

"For us as farmers, the project was very important as we learned how to improve our production system, how to process coffee to obtain quality coffee and how to market our product. The coffee mapping was key for us in understanding what quality really means and how various factors, especially inadequate harvesting and post-harvesting practices, ruin cup quality. Understanding the potential of our coffee motivated us to focus on producing quality coffee.

The training in sustainability was very important and made it much easier for us to meet the requirements of the certification program. At Farmer Field Schools we learned about administration and farm management basics. We have come to consider our farm as something special and outstanding; more than a farm, it is a company. We are now keeping records and taking decisions based on analysis. Little by little we are seeing the results of all our efforts.", said José Miguel Jaramillo Portilla, a project farmer.

Portilla is one of 300 farmers who took part in the ICP project. Almost 6500 farmers and their families in the region benefited directly and indirectly from the quality mapping, as the smallholder organisations in the region grasped the importance of quality and started focusing on so-called "cup quality". Some farmers even had the opportunity to work as cupping experts for COINCA. Hence, this pilot initiative had a strong positive impact on the coffee from the northern region of Peru.

Challenge

Due to severe erosion problems the topography of the region makes sustainable agriculture a challenge. The smallholder families in the mountainous areas of Jaén, San Ignacio and Bagua, own farms with an average size of 10ha with coffee yields of approx. 9qq/ha. The main problems in the region are increasing poverty and growing depletion of natural resources such as forest, soil and water.

Actions Taken

The project concentrated on selected farmer groups in different areas as representatives of the majority of farmers in the region regarding their farming systems and social structure. The farmers were supported by components such as the preparation of a quality map together with a data base; improvement of coffee husbandry and coffee quality; introduction of systematic coffee quality management; strengthening of the smallholder farmer organisations CENFROCAFE and COICAFE; adaptation and implementation of standards for sustainable coffee production; know-how transfer in processing as well as advice and training in commercialisation.