How coffee production has been affected by Covid-19

Leer en español: Cómo se ha visto afectada la producción del café por el Covid-19.

Also, many merchants have relied on technological tools and the internet to offer their products. However, the question arises, how has Covid-19 affected the communities that are dedicated to coffee production.

In this article we have interviewed Luisa Fernanda Quintero, quality director at Campesino Coffee Colombia, to learn a little more about this topic.

How coffee production has been affected by Covid-19?

In departments such as Antioquía Colombia, coffee production has not been affected as much as we are going through the mitaca process, so it is not a great coffee production, but I know that departments like Quindío that go through harvest have taken measures such as the collectors lived on the farms and provide them with everything they need so they don’t go out into the cities.

What have been the hygiene and safety measures that have had to be implemented on the farm to avoid the spread of Covid-19?

In Jericó Colombia the mayor’s office decided to close the municipality to guarantee the safety of its community and on the farms, we have seen that the coffee farmers have followed hygiene standards with the use of face masks, hand washing and disinfection, this has contributed to the fact that currently no present cases in the municipality.

How has the working day on the farm changed?

In Jericó we are in the process of mitaca or traviesa and the collection on the farms has been done with the same family members and neighbors, but the weather has also helped to lengthen this mitaca process and has allowed for slower work in the field.

How have families and communities that depend on coffee production as a livelihood been affected?

At first, I think we all went through a lot of uncertainty, but with the necessary protocols we were able to reactivate coffee purchases and at this moment the price of Colombian coffee has remained on average at $ 1,000,000 (COP) per load and this has greatly helped our coffee growers, a year ago at these same times coffee was at an average of $ 800,000 (COP) a load.

May interest you: How can coffee help you endure quarantine?

Has the sale and distribution of coffee been affected both domestically and abroad?

As exporters, if we noticed a pause in the commercialization of coffee in the United States, but it was a few weeks and in Medellín, which is our company-based city, we saw how coffee shops closed their doors, but at the same time, they reinvented themselves to sell coffee online and to educate the consumer with online classes to sustain themselves while the quarantine is over.

Some communities have financing programs or projects for coffee production. How have these programs turned out?

I do not have much knowledge on this topic; I know that the National Federation of Coffee Farmers has indeed sought to help the coffee sectors from production to marketing.

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