GLOBAL COFFEEPLATFORM

Celebrating the partnership between GCP and SEAPA

At GCP we bring together key stakeholders from across the coffee world. We value and appreciate our positive relationships with public and private actors as they are essential to our work, and to building sustainability across the sector.

Therefore, we were delighted to take a moment at the conference to receive a commemorative plaque and celebrate our strong relationship with the government of Minas Gerais state.

Sustainable coffee in Minas Gerais

Pedro Leitão, the Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply of the State of Minas Gerais, presented the gift to Annette Pensel, Executive Director of the Global Coffee Platform (GCP), to thank and acknowledge GCP for its efforts and contribution to sustainable coffee production in collaboration with the state government.

Minas Gerais is the largest coffee producing state Brazil, accounting for 57% of the country’s production with an average of 30 million bags per year. The state’s willingness to promote sustainable production is proportional to the size of its production, and is a fundamental partner of GCP to maintain and increase the current volume of sustainable coffee.

An evolving cooperation

Today the partnership between SEAPA and GCP has evolved beyond intentions and into concrete actions in field. The extent of the work in the field of sustainable coffee production carried out by SEAPAs Technical Assistance and Rural Extension Institute of Minas Gerais (EMATER) along with GCP can be summarized by the fact that 10,000 coffee growers are assisted on a continuous basis.

Mr Leitão also gave a presentation on Certifica Minas Cafe, the state’s certification program. The program has been promoting sustainable social, economic and environmental production for many years. Today it is the largest public, government operated coffee certification project in the world, and reinforces the fact that in Minas Gerais sustainability is not just an idea, but a reality.

We’re delighted that the government of the State of Minas Gerais is a member of the Global Coffee Platform and an active participant in its Brazil Program’s Brazil Working Group, where its represented by both EMATER and Certifica Minas Café. Joint efforts and partners are the best way to overcome sustainability challenges, and though there is still much work to do to, together with reliable and committed partners we can make the coffee sector sustainable.