Volcafe, an associate member of the Cerrado das Águas Consortium (CCA), has developed a market in Japan for coffees produced using Climate Smart Agriculture strategies.
By ASCOM Consórcio Cerrado das Águas
Climate change and action to mitigate its effects guide the actions of the Cerrado das Águas Consortium, which, together with rural producers in watersheds in areas of the Cerrado Mineiro region, is working to make agriculture more climate resilient by adopting Climate Smart Agriculture practices. Volcafe, an international trading company that is an associate member of the collaborative platform, has been developing the Japanese market for coffees produced by CCA producers and is already seeing results from this commercial opening.
In 2022, an exclusive sale was made to buyers in Japan, whose lot was made up of coffees produced using Climate Smart Agriculture strategies, under the guidance of the CCA, delivering quality, sustainability and responsibility. The result culminated in a new demand for these coffees, whose market development is carried out by Volcafe Japan in partnership with the Brazilian unit, coordinated by the commercial director, Marcelo Pedroza. According to him, Volcafe Japan has been working to promote the coffees produced under the PIPC strategies led by the Cerrado das Águas Consortium and the return is growing interest, so much so that in this 2023 harvest there was a sale of 150 bags from one of the platform's producers, whose Volcafe Japan trader was personally on a mission carried out by the CCA in March to get to know the strategies, the producers and the work carried out collaboratively.
The coffee sold this year was produced at Fazenda Sílvia Amélia, in Serra do Salitre and is part of the ribeirão Grande basin, the municipality's main supply source. The property has a total area of 264 hectares, of which 170 are dedicated to coffee production. Among the strategies that the Consortium has implemented on the property are: introducing diversity between the rows through a mix of ground cover seeds; increasing diversity in the landscape by planting trees and enriching areas of native vegetation. The producer, Eduardo Lana, celebrates the results he has achieved on his crops and the recognition that comes from the partnership with the CCA.
"We have always seen respect for the land, fauna and flora, water and all the physical structures that make up our properties. The CCA is seen by us as a fundamental partner, who will manage the system in which we operate in a macro way, because it can reach my neighbors, the community in which we operate, the private sector and the government. We are not an isolated piece of land, we are part of a whole and, in our view, the CCA can be the point of connection between these agents that make up the whole," says Lana.
PIPC producer, Eduardo Lana, celebrates the sale of coffees to Japan alongside Taishu Utsumi, Volcafe Japan Trader; Gabriel Oliveira, CCA Agronomist and Marcelo Pedroza, Volcafe Commercial Director.
"Volcafe is proud to be part of the CCA and celebrates with its partners a new cargo of coffee destined for the Japanese market. We are very happy to recognize and encourage the program's producers through real business that adds value to their operation and their product. This new demand is recognition of the quality of Cerrado coffee, the excellent work done by producers in implementing climate-smart practices and the tireless work of the CCA executive team. Congratulations to everyone involved! Let's go together, we're just getting started," celebrates Marcelo Pedroza, Volcafe's Commercial Director.
The marketing of coffee is also celebrated at the CCA. For Executive Secretary Fabiane Sebaio, support like this from Volcafe in the promotion and marketing of coffee produced with PIPC strategies demonstrates the commitment of the collaborative platform and, even more so, of producers to evolve their production systems with resource conservation. "The sale of coffee to Japan is a way of recognizing the PIPC producer who is seeking to make the transition to Climate Smart Agriculture and this is also one of the objectives of the CCA, to seek mechanisms so that producers are recognized and are able to make the transition," he adds.
About the CCA
Created in 2015 in Patrocínio - MG, the Cerrado das Águas Consortium aims to join forces to implement strategies that guarantee the provision of ecosystem services in order to achieve a productive system that is resilient to climate change.
The initiative has the following companies as associate members: Nescafé, Expocaccer, Nespresso, Lavazza, Cooxupé, CofCo, Volcafé, Stockler, Daterra, Federação dos Cafeicultores do Cerrado, CerVivo and Starbucks. In addition, the platform has key partners such as Serra do Salitre City Hall and Coromandel City Hall.
Find out more at: http://cerradodasaguas.org.br