4C ASSOCIATION | Portrait of a coffee federation: FNC | January 2010 1

About the FNC 4C uNits

The National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia (Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia, or FNC) is a non-profit associa-tion founded in 1927 by the coffee growers to improve their quality of life and the development of the coffee regions of Colombia. Nowadays FNC represents more than 500,000 farmers and their families and is dedicated to the growing of coffee through a democratic structural organization.

Many will recall the ficti-tious character of Juan Val-dez who has become syn-onymous with coffee from Colombia. Juan Valdez was introduced to the world in a marketing campaign run by

FNC in 1959. The character gave a face to the Colombian coffee grower and goes hand in hand with the work the FNC has done to promote the coffee of Colombia.

4C uNits – FNCF N C : P o r t r a i t o f a c o ff e e f e d e r a t i o n

FNC ProFile

Full nameFederación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia

CountryColombia

licensed FNC 4C unitsSantander, Antioquia, Caldas, Risaralda, Valle del Cauca

units licensed sinceNovember 2008

Production potential for 4C Compliant Coffee 2,111,907 (bags of 60 Kg)

estimated production of 4C Compliant Coffee (coffee year 2008/2009)

1,393,858 (bags of 60 Kg)

Actual total coffee exports of FNC for the calendar year 2008

3,004,000 (bags of 60kg)

Actual 4C Compliant Coffee exports (coffee year 2008/2009)

136,255 (60kg bags), i.e. 5.5% of 2,465,000 total FNC exports

Coffee type100% washed Arabica

Production area of 4C units98,134 ha

Average coffee area per producer3.9 ha

4C verified business partners (coffee farmers and other partners in the 4C unit

including mills and cooperatives)25,143

FNC represents more than 500.000 coffee growers through a democratic structural organization

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4C ASSOCIATION | Portrait of a coffee federation: FNC | January 2010 2

FNC’s ACtivities

Implementing the 4C Code of Conduct in Colombia has been an ambitious pro-cess, aiming at unifying cri-teria in order to strengthen the development of a sus-tainable coffee culture. While coffee production in Colombia is advanced in the social and economic dimensions, there are still important investments to be made in the environ-mental area.

FNC is a founding member of the in 2006 established 4C Association and has been involved since the very beginning of the development of the Common Code for the Coffee Community in 2003. FNC’s 4C Units were born out of a pilot project co-funded by the Efico Foundation, the Flemish International Cooperation agency (FICA), GTZ and FNC in 2006. The aim of the project was to assess the applicability of the 4C Code of Conduct to coffee farming activities in Colombia. The context of coffee production in Colombia was indeed favorable for the application of the 4C Code of Conduct. This was due largely also to FNC’s efforts in the field of sustainability in the more than 80 years since the federation was established.

FNC 4C Units were thus created in 2008 in five coffee districts of Colombia, that is, in Santander, Antioquia, Caldas, Risaralda and Valle del Cauca thereby linking 25,143 business partners (pro-ducers, cooperatives, dry mills and warehouses). These business partners represent about 4.5 % of the total of coffee farmers in Colombia (560,000 producers in Colombia).

Location of FNC 4C Units

Verified FNC 4C Units

FNC 4C Units in process of verification

4C Producers know that quality coffee contributes to sustainability

FNC includes not only the coffee grower but also his or her family, thus spreading the mes-sage of sustainability across the community

A farmer that produces shade grown coffee appreciates the importance of biodiversity and sustainability

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FNC has supported all the tasks needed to create FNC’s 4C Units with values, resources and assets. Physical, human and financial resources assigned to extension, research, traceability, commercial logistics, producer support programs and others have been put at the service of an integral sustainability struc-ture, promoting 4C Compliant Coffee and managing the continuous improvement process in the FNC 4C Units. In this regard, the Colombian coffee growing sector has a series of competitive advantages in its infrastructure and the knowledge gained throughout the years, which enable it to rise to this challenge.

FNC supported the creation of 4C Units and their sub-sequent verification through numerous tools. The fol-lowing are therefore some of the assets FNC has made available to the 4C Unit implementation process:

Purchase guarantee to all the Colombian coffee �growers for their coffee produce.

Extension and knowledge transfer services such �as agronomical advice to farmers in 4C Units.

Scientific research at the � National Coffee Re-search Centre (Centro Nacional de Investigaciones del Café, CENICAFÉ).

Fundación Manuel Mejí � a, a foundation with great expertise in education for coffee growers: The Founda-tion holds workshops for the coffee growers and their families where they learn more about and discuss how to improve sustainability practices.

The coffee information system � SICA (Sistema de Información Cafetera): a system that gathers technical information on all the coffee farms in Co-lombia and is used to create strategies for impro-ving coffee farming methods for example.

A marketing policy for the coffee producers, �

quality policy for the coffee produced, traceability mechanisms.

Further services include a 2008 - 2012 Instituti- �onal strategic plan, institutional identity and organi-zation and coffee growing support programs in the areas of education, competition, and infrastructure.

FNC employees who participate in 4C Training- �of-trainer workshops are then registered as trainers by the 4C Association.

The large number of business partners in Colom-bian 4C Units (25,143) has led to the develop-ment of strategies seeking to achieve knowledge transfer simply and effectively, using a ludic or playful approach and assertive messages.

Participants of a leadership training workshop for FNC 4C producers in Socorro municipality, Santander State

FNCs Producers take part in quality coffee training sessions such as here at the Quality Laboratory in Marsella munici-pality, Risaralda State

Verified FNC 4C Units commit them-selves to continuously improving the working conditions on their farms

Colombia produces solely Arabica coffees

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4C ASSOCIATION | Portrait of a coffee federation: FNC | January 2010 4

Learning through play

As a way of supporting the education strategy, the principles of the 4C Code of Conduct are simplified through games for the coffee far-mers. Various structures of FNC, among them the Fundación Manuel Mejía, Gerencia Comer-cial and Cenicafé, have therefore worked on the development of ludic or playful educational tools, such as:

“Recorriendo Nuestra Tierra Cafetera” (A trip �through our coffee land), a board game aiming at reinforcing the coffee growers’ knowledge of the Code’s principles and criteria.

The “Trip through our coffee land” board game

4C Workshops

During the workshops, the units’ partners are made familiar with the 4C Code of Conduct. Participants learn about how the application of the principles in the 4C Code of Conduct can help them to improve their production practices. They also carry out the self-assessment in order to understand which of the three dimensions of sustainability, the social, economic and environmental, they need to work at to improve. This is the starting point in developing a continuous improvement plan, according to each producer’s needs and capabilities, thus creating

awareness and an actual commitment to sustaina-bility.

The workshops are based on methodologies and curriculums developed by FNC over the years and on the Guidance for 4C Units: 4C Code Imple-mentation Process (4CDoc_045_4C Code Imple-mentation Guidance). This instrument enables the reinforcement of the concepts dealt with at the workshops, and provides guidance on the indivi-dual self-assessment.

Figures demonstrating FNC’s engagement in working with the 4C Code of Conduct in the field speak for themselves. As of January 2010:

7,041 individual self-assessments carried out �

827 4C Workshops and trainings held �

18,000 copies of the � Producer’s Guide for Im-plementing the 4C Code of Conduct (Guía del Productor para la Implementación 4C) printed and distributed in Colombia. The guide is a com-prehensive didactic tool developed by FNC and now available to all 4C Members as a tool.

300 extension agronomists trained on 4C �Concepts

Magda Martinez Ibañez, a technical assistant, here with Gonzalo Moreno, a producer in the municipality of Socorro, Santander State: technical assistants help farmers improve the quality of their coffee

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Implementing the 4C System

There are several challenges in the quest for strengthening FNC’s sustainability program and implementing the 4C System:

1. Continuous improvement methodologies: It is necessary to design and implement a viable scheme that will make it possible to expand and consolidate the application of the 4C System in FNC 4C Units.

2. Investment in farms: It is necessary to support producers in their farm improvement efforts by facilitating the farmers’ access to credit schemes.

3. Dissemination and culture change: This is a long-term task that involves a transfer and ownership effort.

4. Improvement principles: Strengthening know-ledge and practice.

5. Commercial challenges: Aligning supply and demand, in order to make it possible for many of FNC’s producers to participate in a long-term project.

“Concéntrese” (Focus), a game that allows the �coffee grower to identify different unacceptable practices through case examples.

Poster and calendar: Their purpose is to be a �constant, day-to-day reminder to coffee growers of the requirements of the 4C Code of Conduct and to sustainability.

FNC guarantees the purchase of its producers’ coffee

A “Focus” game card can include a description of poor wor-king conditions on a farm so as to identify unacceptable practices in the social dimension

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The 4C Process of continuous improvement begins at the root of coffee production

4C ASSOCIATION | Portrait of a coffee federation: FNC | January 2010 6

What are the changes in your daily work due to the imple-mentation of the 4C Code of Conduct?The creation of the FNC 4C Units has made it possible for us to prioritize the activities that need the most attention; this prioriti-zing has led us to focus our ef-forts and to generate educational strategies to continue promoting sustainability in the short, medi-um and long term.

Which principles of the 4C Code of Conduct have par-ticularly brought about po-sitive changes here at the units?One of the areas that have at-tracted the most attention is the issue of environmental sustaina-bility. We focus on its principles,

such as the adequate management of hazardous waste and of wastewater to avoid polluting na-tural resources; this will have a highly positive impact on coffee growing activities in Colombia’s 4C regions.

Is the self-assessment a useful tool for you on the path to becoming 4C verified? It has been an essential tool for two reasons: first, it has enabled us to identify the areas with

the least compliance; second, it helps us define improvement plans to be implemented by the 4C Unit.

What do you aim to achieve through the application of the 4C Code of Conduct in the future?To strengthen institutional work in order to make our Vision real: “To consolidate the coffee growing families‘ social development, while gu-aranteeing the sustainability of the coffee gro-wing business and the positioning of Colombian coffee as the best in the world”.

Do you intend to step up to other stan-dards? Our intent is for 4C to be a baseline sustainability platform, as well as a starting point for adopting more demanding codes and standards. There are 3,492 farms within the 4C System that already comply with other standards such as Fairtrade, SAN (Rainforest Alliance), UTZ and Organic . 86.1% of FNC’s 4C verified producers are only 4C verified.

Is there a message you want to share with other 4C Members? Sustainability incarnates a society’s highest as-pirations: peaceful coexistence in harmony and justice with nature and other human beings. Thanks to the 4C Association, all of us who are a part of the coffee world can begin to make that dream come true.

iNterview with XimeNA ruedA FAJArdo, FNC strAtegiC mArketiNg direCtor

Looking ahead

The number of farmers working with the 4C Asso-ciation under the umbrella of FNC is still growing. Five further FNC 4C Units are in the process of getting verified by the 4C Association in Cundina-

marca, Huila, Tolima, Quindio and Norte de Santan-der. These units are expected to become licensed 4C Units in early 2010.

unit Contact information

representative

Ximena Rueda Fajardo

Calle 73 No. 8.13 Piso 6 Torre B

e-mail

Ximena.rueda@cafedecolombia.

com

Phone +57 (1) 3136600 ext. 398

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4C ASSOCIATION | Portrait of a coffee federation: FNC | January 2010 7

4C Association | 4C Secretariat Adenauerallee 108 | 53113 Bonn | Germany

PHONE +49 (0)228 850 50 15 FAX +49 (0)228 850 50 20 EMAIL info@4c-coffeeassociation.org WEB www.4c-coffeeassociation.org

The 4C Association is legally registered with the Register of

Commerce in Geneva, Switzerland: CH-660-2928006-4.

4C Association, c/o CR Gestion & Fiduciaire SA, Route des Jeu-

nes 9, 1227 Carouge-Geneva, Switzerland

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Publisher4C Association | 4C Secretariat Adenauerallee 108 53113 Bonn | Germany

EditorsLinda Besigiroha Marie Stich

Responsible for contentChristian Osterhaus

DesignDavid Drexler Studios Munich, Germany

Photography1: Patricia Rincón/Risaralda 3, 6, 7: Patricia Rincón/ Armenia 2: David Bonilla/ Nariño 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11: FNC/ Colombia 12: Ximena Rueda Maps and board-game pictures courtesy of FNC

Annual coffee production11,5 million bags in 2008 (Source: FNC)

Share of world production~8,3% (Source: ICO)

Total production area887,660 ha

bACkgrouNd iNFormAtioN:

CoFFee ANd ColombiA

History & Facts:Coffee was introduced to Colombia in the �

early 1800s. Only arabica coffee is cultivated, some of the varieties used are: Typica, Caturra, Castillo, Bourbon and Maragogype. Coffee is grown in more than 500 municipalities all along the Andes Mountains which cross Colombia from south to north.

Coffee is synonymous with development in �Colombia. It is the first agricultural export pro-duct of Colombia and the third national export after oil and coal, it represents 24% of agri-cultural employment and over 2 million people depend on it. Coffee from freshly roasted Co-lombian coffee beans is rich in flavor, is heavi-ly bodied, intensely aromatic and has a bright acidity.

Coffee growing region

Map of Colombia showing the coffee growing region