Producers receive training in sustainable coffee farming as part of the ECOFFEE initiative

• Workshop jointly organized with INA brought together 75 people in Cartago, Costa Rica.

The National Center for Organic Agriculture of the National Learning Institute (INA) in Cartago, Costa Rica, hosted a workshop on sustainable coffee farming as part of the ECOFFEE initiative, led by CIRAD (French Agricultural and International Development Research Center for Sustainable Development in Tropical and Mediterranean Regions) and supported by CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center).

The workshop was attended by 75 participants, including coffee growers, INA students, and representatives of the organizing institutions. The activity served to present the results of a diagnostic process on the current situation of pesticide-free coffee production in Costa Rica, highlighting the obstacles and opportunities for reducing pesticide use.

In addition, a roundtable discussion was held on the future of sustainable coffee farming in Costa Rica, with the participation of Gabriela Soto, president of the organic certification agency EcoLOGICA; Manuel Oviedo, consultant on sustainability and coffee quality; Pablo Granados, manager of the Granados organic farm; and Luis Zamora, coordinator of the Sustainable Production Program of the Ministry of Agriculture (MAG) in the Central Western region.

Subsequently, a series of workshops was developed on topics mentioned by coffee growers as opportunities for knowledge or as challenges in sustainable production. The first of these addressed shade management in coffee plantations, led by Elias de Melo and Mariano Naranjo, CATIE technicians in the Transforma-Innova program. Organic coffee fertilization was the topic presented by Eduardo Agüero and Eduardo Cadet, professors at INA, while Rolando Chacón, an industrial engineer at the Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE), shared information on coffee processing with low GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions.

In a second round of workshops, Eduardo Agüero, Eduardo Cadet, and Karla Ruiz from INA presented on organic pest control, while Daniel Fernández and William Solano, technicians from CATIE, presented on coffee varieties.

“The ECOFFEE initiative seeks to co-develop strategies that reduce pesticide use throughout the coffee value chain. The participation of coffee farmers, the first link in this chain, is essential. This workshop was an opportunity to highlight the efforts of producers who have already done a lot to grow without pesticides, and we hope that, with the complementary contributions of this event, more synergies can be generated," said Bertille Patault, research assistant at CIRAD.

ECOFFEE is an initiative coordinated by CIRAD and funded by a consortium of coffee roasters from both Europe and the United States (Ecom, Illy, Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE), Luigi Lavazza, Paulig Finland Ltd, Nestlé, Starbucks, and Tchibo), which seeks to develop strategies for the gradual reduction of synthetic pesticide use in order to achieve a more sustainable value chain for this crop.

Through activities such as this workshop, the initiative promotes cooperation between institutions and producers seeking a more sustainable future for coffee farming in Costa Rica, strengthening the commitment to responsible agriculture and protection of the natural environment.