A coffee growing region in Colombia. Photo by Julian Andres Carmona Serrato
[S]ystemically low coffee prices are decimating the coffee growing workforce because farmers lose money with every harvest and choose to go into something more lucrative. Now, two of the world’s largest arabica-producing countries are teaming up with the goal of helping coffee growers reverse the effects of the current coffee price crisis. Leaders in the coffee sector from both countries came together to formalize the alliance at Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply on June 20.
With the World Coffee Producers Forum on the horizon in Campinas, Brazil, July 10–11, the partnership frames Brazil and Colombia as a joint force in creating solutions to the current crisis affecting their citizens.
“The time has come to take the lead globally, we need to find solutions fast before thousands of coffee growers go out of business around the world,” says José Marcos Magalhães, President of Minasul, which represents more than 5,000 Brazilian coffee growers in Minas Gerais. “The longer this crisis drags out, the more producers will quit the coffee business.”
