9th Conilon Producer Symposium starts this Friday (11)

O 9th Conilon Producer Symposium, carried out by Ufes and the Junior Agronomy Company of the University (Projagro/Ufes), will open this Friday, 11th, in on-line platform. The event was produced in videos that will be available for public access, with topics of interest to coffee growers and the community in general.

“In this ninth edition, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot have our auditoriums full as in previous years, but this situation opened up another possibility for us: also speaking to Brazil and the world virtually”, says the director of Research at the Dean of Research and Postgraduate Studies at Ufes (PRPPG) and general coordinator of the Symposium, Fábio Partelli. “We hope to have access from producers in Espírito Santo, the states of Bahia and Rondônia and countries such as Portugal, Angola and Mozambique”, adds Partelli, citing the states and countries that have important production of conilon coffee.

The opening video of the event features the participation of the rector of Ufes, Paulo Vargas; the director of the North University Center of Espírito Santo (Ceunes), Luiz Antonio Favero Filho; the president of the Federation of Rural Workers, Farmers and Family Farmers of Espírito Santo (Fetaes), Júlio Cézar Mendel; from Incaper extensionist Nilson Barbosa; the president of the Federation of Agriculture and Livestock of the State of Espírito Santo (Faes), Júlio Rocha Júnior; and the president of the Coffee Growers Cooperative of the South of Espírito Santo (Cafesul), Carlos Renato Theodoro.

Lectures

According to professor Partelli, the seminar will bring information not only to coffee growers, but to consumers of the product, such as the lecture that will address the relationship between coffee and health, which will be given by the professor from the Health Sciences Center (CCS) at Ufes José Geraldo Mill. Other lecture topics are Planting and training fertilizer; Irrigation management for high productivity; Challenges facing Brazilian agriculture; is Coffee and papaya tree implantation system. See the full schedule on the website https://cafeconilon.com/.

To ensure debate on the topics covered, a question and answer section was created on the platform based on questions to speakers sent by the following guests: Paulo Foletto, Secretary of Agriculture; Lourenço Alfredo Magalhães, agricultural engineer and researcher at the National Coffee Institute of Angola; Alysson Paolinelli, former Minister of Agriculture; Manuel Correa, professor at the University of Lisbon; Eduardo Bertolini, coffee grower and member of the Coffee Growing Technical Group (GTEC); and Claudia Gregório, anchor journalist for Jornal do Campo, broadcast by TV Gazeta.

“The seminar is a contribution from Ufes to Espírito Santo society, whether to improve coffee management or to provide more information to consumers about this extraordinary product that generates income and foreign exchange for the state and Brazil”, says Partelli. In addition to the recorded lectures, the seminar content was published in a book with a thousand printed copies for free distribution and online availability in PDF format.

successful experiences

One of the sections of the seminar is dedicated to successful experiences in the production of conilon coffee. From Muqui, coffee grower Eliane Almeida talks about the topic The empowerment of women in coffee farming. Another experience presented will be that of Santa Tereza producer Luís Carlos da Silva on Special Conilon. Gustavo Sturm, from Teixeira de Freitas, Bahia, will talk about Coffee fermentation.

The program also includes tributes to coffee growers Silvestre Baiôco Filho, known as Senhor Pepe, from Aracruz, and the brothers Isaac and Lucas Venturim, from São Gabriel da Palha. “Since the fifth symposium, we have elected people who stand out in the sector. We are honoring the Venturim brothers, young pioneers in the production of quality coffee and in the roasting area. Also Mr. Pepe, who does a fantastic job of densifying and selecting superior materials”, explains Partelli.