Colombia invests 22 billion yuan more to promote agricultural growth such as coffee

According to reports, the latest report released by the Bank of Colombia shows that Colombia's agricultural output grew by 10.2% in the second quarter of this year and 8% in the first half of this year. In the first half of the year, exports of Colombian agricultural products such as beans, oranges, flowers and cocoa increased by 11.6% compared with the same period last year. However, dealing with extreme weather is still an important issue for agricultural production in Colombia, so the bank will invest 22 billion pesos to support agricultural development.

It is understood that Colombia is an important exporter of coffee, bananas, palm oil and other products in the world. Agriculture is an important pillar industry in the country, and more than 31% of the population depends on agriculture for a living. However, about 23 per cent of annual climate disaster losses in Colombia are related to agriculture, resulting in relative instability in agricultural production and farmers' incomes. Especially in the coffee industry in the past two years, Colombia has been affected by El Ni ñ o and La Nina phenomena, and has reported a decline in coffee production for three years.

Although it began to grow slightly in 2023, and production is expected to resume by 15% in 2024, Colombia began to experience dry weather in January this year, without Rain Water, and the water levels in many reservoirs and rivers fell seriously. at one point, restrictions on hydropower were needed, which had a great impact on the coffee industry. Irrigation should be increased in the original drought, but due to the shortage of water resources and restrictions on water use, curry farmers are caught in a dilemma. On the one hand, the lack of water use will not be conducive to the growth of coffee and reduce production. On the other hand, increasing water use may lead to fines and increase costs.

Fortunately, however, rainfall began to resume in May, mitigating some of the effects of the drought. However, it was still in a state of drought, and in September, the dry season began again, triggering forest fires in Colombia, and the dry and windy climate led to the expansion of the fire area. it is reported that nearly 11000 hectares of land in Colombia has been destroyed by the fire, which also involves plantations such as coffee and sugar cane.

To this end, the Colombian Government, together with the Latin American Development Bank, recently launched the Intelligent Initiative to promote the Sustainable Development of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries production Systems and to respond to Climate change, which will be launched in 2025 and is expected to invest US $99.9 million over five years. To enhance the capacity of the agricultural sector to cope with extreme weather and climate change. In addition, the Bank of Colombia Foundation announced that it will invest 22 billion Colombian pesos to support agricultural development, focusing on agricultural processing, food science and technology, rural tourism and other 11 specific projects.

The news is good news for the Colombian coffee industry, and according to the Colombian National Coffee growers Union (FNC), Colombian coffee production will reach 12.53 million bags by the end of 2023 / 24, an increase of 18% over last year, and is expected to exceed 13 million bags in 2024. At present, as coffee-producing countries such as Brazil and Vietnam have reported reduced production, international coffee prices have remained high and continued to rise, while Colombia is the world's third largest coffee producer and exporter, and the increase in coffee production is expected to lead to a decline in international coffee.

At present, the coffee industry in Colombia is also facing many problems, mainly due to increased planting costs, internal conflicts and the upcoming La Nina phenomenon. In terms of planting costs, according to the latest World Bank forecasts, the global cost of fertilizer production may rise in 2025 due to the escalation of conflicts in the Middle East.

In addition, some coffee producing areas in Colombia remain unsafe, particularly in the southwestern provinces of Nari ñ o, Cauca and Cauca Valley, where the Central staff headquarters, the largest branch of the country's largest rebel force, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), has recently been exchanging fire with government forces, affecting the security and economy of the area.

Moreover, according to the warning issued by the US Climate Center, the probability of La Nina appearing between September and November 2024 is 71%. Once this phenomenon occurs, it will bring bad weather to many coffee producing areas, including Colombia. Affect coffee cultivation and production and other activities, affect its final production. Therefore, at present, people in the Colombian coffee industry hope that the new initiative launched by the government can effectively help solve the problem.

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