The 94th National Coffee Congress, the top governing body of Colombia's National Coffee Growers Federation, started in Bogotá with 90 delegates from 15 departmental committees. Under the motto 'We know what we do,' the event examines sector challenges and sets goals for the next period. Delegates voiced requests to the agriculture minister amid budget constraints.
The Congress formally opened on November 25 at the FNC headquarters in Bogotá, known as Day Zero, and will run until November 28. It brings together delegates to discuss four thematic commissions: Administrative and Financial, Production and Environmental Management, Commercialization and Business, and Social Development. They reviewed 3,710 ideas from nationwide Café Ideas encounters, including in Pitalito and Gigante, as input for 2026 decisions and the guild's budget.
FNC General Manager Germán Bahamón highlighted a 17% increase in national coffee production for 2024-2025, reaching 14.9 million sacks valued at 24.5 trillion pesos. Globally, production hit 177 million sacks, with green coffee exports projected over 1.1 billion dollars for 2025, a 90% growth.
Huila leads with 19.65% of national production and 21.8 sacks per hectare (above the 19.7 national average), thanks to 87,700 families. Magali Cubillos Gil, Huila Committee President, stressed defending departmental interests, where 35 of 37 municipalities rely on coffee farming, and called for generational renewal. Agriculture Minister Martha Viviana Carvajalino Villegas outlined a complex global economic outlook, noting the formalization of 1.8 million hectares and 35,000 farms, but warning of five million informal hectares.
Delegates including Jorge Salinas (Valle), Luis Francisco Peñaloza (Santander), Gladys Florido (Boyacá), César Bohórquez (Quindío), and Jesús Noguera (Cauca) requested FAIA Café program continuity, more committee funds, road improvements, climate aid, protection from free trade agreements and imports, and insurance reforms. The minister replied that 'there is no money' due to fiscal issues and warned of cuts if the financing law fails. Congress President Nelson Wandurraga urged public investment coordination and resolution of the 70 billion pesos annual pension liability from the National Coffee Fund.
Huila Committee Executive Director Edna Yolima Calderón Ome emphasized proposals on sustainability and social welfare: 'Huila leads because it works united'.