Roberio Oliveira Silva, the Executive Director of International Coffee Organisation (ICO), was in Bangalore to attend the India International Coffee Festival and tour coffee growing region Kodagu (Karnataka) last week. In a free-wheeling interview with Business Line , Silva outlines the global coffee body’s plans on generic campaign, promoting coffee consumption among students and the organisation’s strategy to combat climate change.

The ICO is willing to help India promote its coffee, provided it has a plan, he says.

Excerpts:

Low productivity is affecting small growers globally. Is there any effort by ICO to increase productivity?

We have many projects in terms to increase productivity and transfer technology from some countries which have achieved high productivity. We are currently in discussion for creating common friends for productivity and for funding.

For promoting shade-grown coffees as practiced in India, we can always help the country.

What is ICO’s stand on tech transfer from advanced countries like Colombia/Brazil to other coffee growing countries?

ICO has signed an agreement with the Brazilian agency for co-operation. It allows Brazil and ICO to work together in transfer of technology to countries that do not have such technologies. We have signed up some small countries at present. Our initial experience is that it is something that we are finding very complicated to take it forward.

We may face some hurdle in countries like India. But India can take help from Columbia as the situation is the same there.

Countries such as India grow coffee under shade. Are there any efforts by ICO to help market it exclusively?

ICO helps promoting coffee, in general. Not a coffee that is in open sky or under the shades. We help generic promotions and the countries promote themselves. Obviously, the generic promotions also help. For promoting shade grown coffees, if India has a plan we can help. Currently, India chairs International Coffee Council (ICC). They ask we give.

What is ICO doing to promote consumption?

We are developing a plan. The plan at this moment is at the discussion stage with both producing and consuming countries involved. The discussions are around as to how to find funds. Producers have agreed to put money along with consuming nations. So, we are waiting for their initiative and for their response.

Is ICO preparing a generic campaign to boost global consumption?

Yes, we are preparing a generic plan. The plan is to help boost consumption and we have prepared a manual. The manual deals with providing the experience of countries that have successfully promoted consumption in their domestic market. Currently, there is a clash of interest. If we boost consumption in the domestic market, we have to move south, in terms of internal pricing and it will also help international coffee price and naturally. And so, we have various steps. One of them is to initiate coffee consumption among students in schools, to create awareness about coffee.

Low prices have affected coffee growing countries. What is ICO’s stand in this regard?

ICO does not play a role in terms of economics. As you know, we (ICO) don't have any economic roles. What we can is bring in transparency in the coffee market in terms of the statistics and in terms of providing talk show (dialogue) between producing and consuming nations. And also help and try smooth out these fluctuations.

Climate change is playing havoc in coffee growing counties is ICO working out to find any solutions?

Yes, we are concerned about it and working in this field. A lot needs to be done and we are bringing this element in our (ICO) website to help producers. We are going to announce it shortly. Most probably, by mid September, you will have this climate box in our website.

Many countries have been affected by pest menace. Has ICO initiated any research to tackle it?

I visited five countries that were most affected last year. I visited the entire Central American region. And what we are doing is help them open doors at the World Bank, at the Inter-American Development Bank to fund projects to overcome these problems. Also, help them with transfer of technologies from Brazil and Columbia. They are also having similar set of problem.

Is ICO working on any strategy for growers or countries to access finance to take up initiatives like market research or to develop new plant varieties or species?

Yes. We are working together with the World Bank.

It's fantastic, we are publishing a manual for best practices in coffee and it's a work that we have been doing for the last one year.

And we are going to publish it by September, this book, it's going to be conducted by a team of economists of ICO and the World Bank jointly. We are also working on strategies to help in terms of managing the situations. Also we at ICO have a forum for finance.

The forum has everybody - growers, the trading houses and the industry.

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