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  • The FNC flagship program PSF grew over 100% from January to August 2011.

The FNC’s Technical Division reported that from January to August 2011 about 70,000 hectares of coffee were renewed in the country. With the Colombian Government help, an ambitious program for coffee plantation renovation continues to develop at good pace.

The FNC’s goal this year is to renew 130,000 hectares. Normally, a large proportion of plantations are renewed in the second half, when coffee growers take advantage of different programs after crop cycles.

The Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC)’s most successful renovation program is Permanence, Sustainability and Future (PSF), implemented by 31,000 coffee growers during the first eight months of 2011.

Coffee growers benefited from PSF hold small plantations, with old trees in less than 5 hectares. They are encouraged to renovate crops with rust-resistant varieties recommended by the National Coffee Research Center (Cenicafé), and received over USD 89 million during the first 8 months of the year.

Demand for renovation program loans has been so high that the number and amount thereof from January to August 2011 has significantly grown year-over-year, as shown below:

Permanencia, Sostenibilidad y Futuro (PSF)
YOY results 2010-2011 (As of August 31)

 20102011Variation
No. loans19,74731,79361%
No. hectares14,74728,62194%
Amount requested (COP)88,390,452,000171,460,404,00094%


Coffee growers’ higher demand for PSF loans is the result of work by the FNC Extension Service with local banks and other stakeholders. The ultimate goal of renovating coffee plantations is to make farms sustainable and competitive in the medium and long term, improving the living conditions of smallholders and their families.

Conditions of the PSF Program loans are very favorable for producers, as they only have to pay 60% of the amount granted and the remaining 40% is covered by the Ministry of Agriculture through the Rural Capitalization Incentive (ICR).

Likewise, the National Coffee Fund covers the loan interests, and the producer has a term of 7 years to pay the capital debt, with the first 2 years interest-free.

Transformation of Colombian coffee farming is complemented by coffee growers themselves who have opted to self-finance renovation, and those who have resorted to the competitiveness program, whose results as of August 31 are shown below.

Competitiveness Program

In the first 8 months of 2011, 15,000 farmers received incentives worth USD 4.2 million for renovation of 11,672 hectares. With this program, funded with USD 7.3 million from the Ministry of Agriculture, the FNC wants to encourage renovation of at least 23,500 hectares.

The program aims at maintaining coffee plantations at an optimal age.

Coffee Growers’ Self-Funding

Thanks to producers that believe in coffee farming, 28,328 hectares were renewed in the first 6 months of 2011, i.e. 98% of the area renovated a year earlier. About 10,000 hectares were renovated with loans from Banco Agrario, 99% of which given to small coffee growers who, on average, renewed 1.1 hectares.