CoffeeResearchConsortiumcompletes
20yearsofcontributiontothenational
coffeefarmingbusiness,whichcelebrates
itsprotagonismathomeandabroad
T
he production of coffee in Bra-
zil has been responsible for one
third of the global market over
the past years. One out of ev-
ery three cups of coffee con-
sumed in the world, is Brazilian. This turns
the Country into the biggest global produc-
er of the bean at the moment, besides the
biggest producer and second biggest con-
sumer. The expectation is for Brazil to climb
to the position as leading consumer, over
the next few years, outstripping the United
States on that score. Currently, thebeverage
ranksassecondmostdemandedbytheBra-
zilian consumers, coming only after water.
According to Gabriel Bartholo, manager
at EmbrapaCoffee, this protagonist position
results fromthe joint efforts of about 100 re-
search, learning and rural extension insti-
tutions members and partners of the Cof-
fee Research Consortium, coordinated by
Embrapa coffee, operating in all major cof-
fee producing regions across the Country.
The agronomist equally emphasizes the ef-
forts by rural extension agents and the par-
ticipation of the coffee farmers, who adopt
the newly developed technologies. “For 20
years now, the Consortium has positively
changed the national coffee farming scenar-
io, in linewith theproductive, agroindustrial
and export sectors”, he notes.
Bartholo stresses that the creation of
Embrapa Coffee for coordinating the Cof-
fee Research Program, in 1999, complet-
Growing
together
Sílvio Ávila
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