For more than 30 years, El Salvador’s coffee sector was forgotten by previous governments. However, in the administration of President Nayib Bukele, the item strengthened again, and grain exports increased.

As part of the efforts to rehabilitate coffee growing, through the Program for Strengthening the Climate Resilience of the Coffee Forests, the government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), projects the renovation of 5,000 (manzanas) blocks of the coffee park next year. This will directly benefit 3,500 small producers who have a maximum of seven cultivated apples.

According to the institution, this type of program seeks to advance the recovery of the national coffee park; therefore, it will deliver seedlings to benefit small producers of the golden grain.

In addition, the Minister of Agriculture, Enrique Parada, stated that they are working on the preparation of 3 million coffee seedlings, 161,000 fruit trees, 48,000 forest trees, and 54,000 native species for shade in the coffee plantations, which will be part of the benefit delivered to coffee farmers.

“With the program, we seek to renew 5,000 coffee manzanas (8,600 acres) by 2023, benefiting 3,500 producers with land smaller than seven manzanas. We are in the process of selecting nurserymen based on technical criteria,” said Héctor Borja, manager of MAG’s 2023 Coffee Renewal Plan.

The announcement was made public on Wednesday at the San José La Majada cooperative, in Juayúa, Sonsonate, where more than 150 nurserymen attended. The MAG indicated that the meetings will be extended to other mountain ranges where coffee is grown.

Similarly, the state portfolio stated that the benefited small coffee growers must have properties in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec, Bálsamo-Quezaltepec, and Chichontepec mountain ranges, as well as be registered in the Ministry of Finance with their respective tax records and in the MAG’s General Directorate of Plant and Animal Health (DGSVA).