Coffee in Latin America (Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Peru)

UTIA has partnered with institutions in Mexico, Peru, and Costa Rica to conduct research and teaching activities related to small-scale coffee farmers affiliated with cooperatives. UTIA faculty and staff members involved include Carlos Trejo-Pech, Margarita Velandia, Chris Stripling, Adam Willcox, and Sara Mulville. Foreign partners include Fernando Sáenz Segura, Roselia Servín Juárez, Benigno Rodríguez Padrón, María Franco Escobar.

PROJECT DATES

Since 2018

PROGRAM LEADER

Dr. Carlos Trejo-Pech

PARTNERS

ColPos Córdoba, Veracruz; La Central, Perú, and CINPE, Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica.

FUNDING

100,000 Strong Partners of America, US Department of State, Smith Center Seed Grant and Irwin International Travel Endowment

IMPACTS

• UT taught a one-credit hour pilot course at Colegio de Postgraduados Campus Córdoba, in Mexico, in the mini-winter term of 2022. (Testimonials of students below).
• Hosted ColPos students and faculty at UT in Spring 2023 to develop coffee-focused research projects. The ColPos team visited organic farms in East Tennessee, local farming operations and UT’s East Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center, Organic Crops Unit. 
• Visiting scientists and professionals shared a seminar on June 8, 2023, “Coffee Cooperatives in Latin America,” hosted by the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and the Smith Center. Scientists and professionals working on coffee research and cooperatives presented findings and field experiences from Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Peru. (A video featuring the presentations is below.)

Program Updates: