Cuba boosts project to produce organic coffee with help from Italy

The Agroforestry Group (GAF), of the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture (MINAG), presented the BioCubaCafé agroecological coffee production project, which it is carrying out together with the Italian Agency for Cultural and Economic Exchange with Cuba (AICEC), according to official media reports on the island.

The president of the GAF, Robeldi Nicot, reported that 170 coffee growers from Santiago de Cuba and Granma are involved in this initiative, which is experiencing a notable worldwide boom, according to a report by the Prensa Latina (PL) news agency.

According to Nicot, the initiative is being applied in the Santiago municipalities of Tercer Frente, Segundo Frente, Guamá, San Luis, Songo-La Maya and Contramaestre, as well as in those of Buey Arriba, Bartolomé Masó and Guisa, in Granma.

For his part, Wilber Sánchez, a producer with good results who works in a Segundo Frente agroforestry farm, alluded to the progress made with coffee plantations in the mountains and family participation, especially the role of women, the media pointed out.

It is the only organic coffee in Cuba, to which the most advanced techniques are applied to guarantee and certify this supply chain, developing one of the first coffees in the world with traceability from the field to the cup, according to a report by Cubaminrex last week.

For that occasion, Cuba, with the support and collaboration of the Lavazza Foundation and Lavazza S.p.A., participated with BioCubaCafé in the World of Coffee, held for the first time in Milan, Italy.

BioCubaCafé offers a “good, clean and fair” product, without the use of chemicals thanks to sustainable agriculture, focused on the protection of forests and the participation of local communities, added this source.

Cuba has been a traditional producer of quality coffee for export, but for years it has been facing serious problems to meet national demand as well as its international commitments, which is why officials are looking for alternatives to overcome the crisis; among them, with the support of international organizations to develop joint projects.

Last March it was announced that the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) of the United Nations was joining in a project to increase the production of coffee and cocoa, in the midst of the sustained production crisis in the country.

The initiative is called the Agroforestry Cooperative Development Project (Prodecafé) and will have an initial investment of 42.5 million dollars, according to a statement from IFAD.

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OnCuba Staff