The Secretary General of the Organization for Southern Cooperation (OSC) based in this capital, Sheikh Manssour Bin Mussallam, reiterated the unwavering commitment to support the coffee sector through its value-added transformation, from production to marketing.
Mussallam described the origins of the aromatic grain in his social media report on humanity.”
He explained that for more than 25 million small farmers who have worked the land for generations, coffee is not only a source of food, but also a source of culture and memory, a common thread from the past to the present to the future.
“In the era of climate change, coffee is a battleground for our collective survival as rising temperatures, soil erosion, droughts and floods threaten this crop whose history is that of humanity,” he warned.
He emphasized that the emergence of new genotypes and sustainable agricultural practices is also the embodiment of human resilience, adaptability and innovation, as farmers with righteous determination refuse to give way to the Anthropocene.
Given that four of the world’s ten largest exporters come from a region where not a single coffee tree grows (Europe) and the countries of origin receive only five percent of the final market price, the story of coffee is an example of economic inequality, he said defendant.
Despite this attitude, he viewed coffee as a story of hope and determination, as young people in the South, unwilling to accept the status quo, founded cooperatives, blenders and roasters, packaged coffee brands and coffee shops, despite all odds and evidence.
“Coffee is the most powerful symbol of the South: a tree whose fruit is universal, but whose roots can only grow in southern soils: Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, the Arab world, Asia,” he emphasized.
International Coffee Day was created by the International Coffee Organization in 2015 and was first launched in Milan, Italy. The aim is to promote and celebrate the coffee seed as a beverage at events around the world.
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