Developing spaces to promote Colombian cocoa

On September 29th, 2023, in the city of Neiva - Colombia, within the framework of the International Coffee Cocoa and Agrotourism Fair – FICCA 2023, the II Binational Meeting of Cocoa Organizations took place, in which producers and associations of cocoa from Peru and Colombia gathered, as well as representatives of the private and public sectors and international cooperation.

For this version, the main discussion revolved around the development of sustainable and quality cocoa cultivation, which is why the SIPPO program supported the presentation of the presentation called: “The European Green Deal: challenges and opportunities in production and export of cocoa”, where the challenges that the new European regulation will bring, especially that related to the zero deforestation law, were analyzed.

In the afternoon, seeking to identify those bottlenecks and opportunities in the cocoa sector, SIPPO supported the development of a strategic planning workshop with all the participants of the meeting and led by Red Cacaotera, which sought to collect the needs and opportunities in the sector, in order to build a collective vision for the strengthening of cocoa producing organizations.

This workshop allowed the identification of relevant topics within four strategic axes for the development of the cocoa sector: 1. Representation, spokesperson and development of cocoa producing organizations, 2. Market and marketing management, 3. Productive and social development, 4 . Organizational development. Here, key topics were identified such as the need to implement agroforestry crops and sustainable agriculture, build representation based on market niches, certification in terms of traceability and fair trade, the importance of certifications for accessing to international markets, support for correct use of GPS systems to collect soil information, the need to work on lines of research adapted to territorial needs; among others.

On the night of September 30, was held the ceremony of the awards X Concurso Nacional de Cacao Fino y de Aroma - CACAO DE ORO 2023, in which was a tribute was paid to historic winners of this contest from from 2013-2022. Cacao de Oro contest seeks to recognize and reward the quality of the cocoa beans of the families, regions and organizations that year after year seek recognition for their effort and dedication.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUHJjXUaC7o

Brochure winners 10 year: 

 BrochureRedCacaotera_ 30_10_2023.pdf

https://www.redcacaotera.com.co/cacaco-d-eoro/

The winner of the 2023 Cacao de Oro award was ASOPCARI association of the municipality of Granada in the Department of Meta, to whom SIPPO and the Colombia más Competitiva program will support its participation in Chocoa 2024 international fair, to be held in the city of Amsterdam, in the month of February.