Finca Juan Martín

The story

Finca Juan Martín is an experimental farm owned and operated by the Ruiz family through their company, Banexport. Established as an innovation center in the Sotará region of Cauca, the farm serves as a model for specialty coffee production and a resource for local producers. It focuses on developing agronomic, harvesting, and processing practices that are shared with farmers to improve quality and sustainability across the region.

Challenges

While the farm's high elevation currently protects crops from common phytosanitary issues like coffee rust and the coffee berry borer, there is concern that these threats may reach the area due to the effects of global warming. Additionally, the farm must manage soil erosion risks caused by the steep slopes of the terrain.

Innovations

Banexport uses Finca Juan Martín to test how variety-specific agronomy, selective harvesting, and post-harvest methods affect quality. Published releases include washed, natural, and anaerobic protocols, but no process is assigned to a lot without exact-release evidence.