Colombia's Coffee Axis

The nation of Colombia exports around 4.15 billion USD worth of coffee beans every year, and most of it is produced in the nation’s Coffee Axis. This region is located in four different provinces in Colombia: Caldas, Quindio, Risaralda, and Tolima. It accounts for 37% of agricultural employment in Colombia, and is known for the production of the Arabica bean, a coffee bean internationally renowned for its quality and taste. While coffee’s role in Colombia’s modern economy is significant, it also had immeasurable influence on the formation of their national identity. The introduction of the coffee bean was thought to either be done by the Jesuits in the 1730s, or from the north in Guyana. During the early days of coffee farming in Colombia, income inequality in the industry was high, and there was a large class of peasantry responsible for picking the beans. Coffee growing was largely concentrated on estates known as “haciendas”. In the late 1920s, prominent coffee growers from the Coffee Axis formed the Federacion Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (FNC) with the aim to collectively represent farmers and to set fair prices in international trade. Only a couple years after the organization’s founding, the region was hit with the economic effects of the Great Depression, and many haciendas closed down. In an attempt to revitalize the industry, the Colombian government took hold of these lands and distributed them among many small-scale farmers to manage themselves. After this surprising change in the industry, the FNC then began to work towards differentiating Colombian coffee from other South American brands. In the late 1950s, the fictional Juan Valdez character first appeared in advertisements for Colombian coffee, next to his mule Conchita. A couple of years later, in 1961, the FNC began producing a seal that said “100% Colombian Coffee.” Much of Colombia’s continued success in the coffee growing industry can largely be attributed to these ingenious marketing campaigns, which not only had an effect on the coffee industry, but also global perception of the nation itself. It was one of the first ingredient branding campaigns in the world, and brought tremendous success, allowing consumers to easily recognize Colombian coffee from others in supermarket shelves. It also allowed Colombians to charge more for their coffee, with more public perception around the superior quality of their goods. The imagery of Juan Valdez grew so pervasive internationally that consumers began to associate it with respect, compromise, and good quality produce. 

While their advertising campaigns kickstarted their optics globally, Colombians hold true to the qualities assumed about their coffee. Even today, Colombian coffee is still known for its above average quality, thanks to strict export standards and the climate of the Coffee Axis. The Coffee Axis is the world’s second largest producer of the Arabica bean, which is renowned for its quality and taste. It also has a very specific climate it can grow in. This gives the Coffee Axis a huge advantage in terms of ability to grow this coveted bean: it has the climate, and it stays like that relatively all year round. With these conditions, and the FNC’s efforts to hold standards and positive perception, it is no wonder that this region grows some of the most high quality coffee in the world. However, with international phenomena like climate change looming, it is not smooth sailing for this industry or those who work in it. 

A United Nations study estimated that regions like the Coffee Axis could decline in production by up to 50% by 2050. Increased rainfall and higher temperatures will reduce regions fertile enough for the Arabica bean, and move more suitable areas to higher altitudes. The increased rainfall and temperatures also have other adverse effects, such as an easier environment for “coffee rust”, a disease that kills coffee plants, and larger amounts of mudslides that can wipe out whole yields at a time. Unpredictable weather patterns create farmers racked with uncertainty, unable to optimize their yield because they don’t know when to begin planting. While some say this will result in a global coffee crisis, the worse plight lies with those who work the fields. The price of a cup of coffee rose between 1980 and 2018, and the industry recorded record profits in 2021. Conversely, the wages of coffee growers are falling. The price of unroasted beans has stagnated, and even fallen, in that same forty year period. There are multiple reasons for this. Firstly, the largest producer of coffee beans in the world, Brazil, has greatly increased its number of bags produced per year in the last few decades, providing the market with more goods and lowering the price of the beans. Second, cafe chains like Starbucks have skyrocketed in popularity over the last few decades, bringing the taste of the higher quality Arabica bean to more consumers, increasing the price of a cup of coffee. Both of these forces in the market contribute to Colombia’s problem, as recent consumer interest in the Arabica bean has driven more growth in coffee agriculture in other areas of the world, bringing the bean price down. This leaves small coffee farms and those who work them in a bad place. With the compounding effects of both reduced yield and lower prices on the international market, many farmers are choosing to flee the rural areas and head for more oppurtunity in urban areas. This story is not just true for Colombia, either: countries around Latin America with different crops are experiencing the same thing. The Coffee Axis is a treasured region, known for its amazing coffee and bringing national pride to the coffee farmed and the work ethic of those who farm it. However, economic and meteorological threats may leave the Axis a shell of what it once was.