CNA debates alternatives to drought and consumption trends in coffee farming

The president of the National Coffee Commission of the Brazilian Agriculture and Livestock Confederation (CNA), Breno Mesquita, participated in two online events, on Friday (04/12), to debate the current impact of the drought on coffee crops and the vision from different segments of the coffee production chain about consumption trends, sustainability challenges and the promotion of the image of Brazilian coffee on the international stage.

In the morning, the virtual meeting was organized by the Parliamentary Coffee Front, coordinated by deputy Emidinho Madeira (PSB-MG), and was attended by the Secretary of Agriculture of Minas Gerais, Ana Maria Valentin, representatives of cooperatives from Minas Gerais and São Paulo, parliamentarians, researchers and coffee industry leaders.

For Mesquita, the current drought scenario is irreversible and will have the consequences of a drop in production for the 2021 coffee harvest. “To minimize impacts, it is important that we work to expand credit and resources from specific lines for these situations, such as those from the Fund of Defense of the Coffee Economy (Funcafé), as our focus is to serve the largest number of coffee growers and avoid decapitalization and debt in the sector”, he highlighted.

In the afternoon, the virtual debate was promoted by the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé) and featured experts from different areas to discuss research and technology, chain sustainability, market transparency, traceability and promoting the image of Brazilian coffees through the union of the production chain.

Mesquita highlighted the CNA System and Federations programs for training rural producers and Technical and Management Assistance as ways to strengthen coffee farming in Brazil. According to him, training and knowledge are fundamental to making Brazilian coffee farmers even more competitive.

“The CNA/Senar System provides information and training so that our producers become more competitive every day. Senar offers courses and technical assistance promotes technological insertion allowing producers to work more with less, have profitability, profitability and better quality of their coffees”, he said.

He also highlighted the importance of innovation to increase the efficiency of the production chain, which can be achieved with access to research, promotional actions, partnerships with startups, in addition to family succession, with young people remaining in the family business.

“It is not enough to be the largest producers, we also need to be extremely competitive, making the producer a global reference. This is our challenge, both for the production sector and for the entire chain, to promote the competitiveness and sustainability of coffee farming, regardless of the size of the producer.”

Breno Mesquita also cited the International Coffee Week (SIC) in Minas Gerais as one of the most important events in the sector to generate information and network for the entire chain. According to him, in this year's edition, more than 58 countries participated in the event, which was held virtually due to the pandemic.

In the Cecafé live, the president of Cecafé, Nelson Carvalhaes, the president of the National Coffee Council (CNC), Silas Brasileiro, the Director of Institutional Relations Associação Brasileira da Indústria de Café Solúvel (ABICS), Aguinaldo José de Lima, the executive director of the Brazilian Coffee Industry Association (ABIC), Celírio Inácio da Silva, the researcher at Embrapa Rondônia, Enrique Alves, and the special representative of Brazil at the International Organizations in London (Rebraslon), ambassador Marco Farani.