89.63

CoE Ranking: 2

Farm: La Florida

Farmer: Gilberto Rojas Mosquera

Birth Place & Date: Acevedo, Huila, May 29, 1970

Age: 45

Parents: Anselmo Rojas Rojas & Graciela Mosquera Claros

Siblings: Otoniel, Nelson, Amparo, Alfredo, Anselmo, Leonor & María Claret

Wife’s Name: Yolanda Torres Vela

Children: (6) Juan de Jesús, Javier Hernando, Claudia Milena, Diego Felipe, Eduar Gilberto, Ana María.

Academic Level: Technician in coffee production

Farm: La Florida

Vereda (Rural District): La Marimba

Municipality: Acevedo

Department: Huila

Total Area Grown with Coffee: 7 ha

% planted with resistant varieties (Colombia & Castillo): 90%

% planted with susceptible varieties (Caturra): 10 %

% of Young Technologically Advanced Coffee Plantations: 100%

Other farm crops: banana

Post-harvest processing (“Beneficio”): Traditional (natural fermentation)

Drying: in the sun

Score at Cup of Excellence 2015: 89.63

Certifications: RFA, FLO, UTZ

Farmer’s Biography:

I was born on May 29, 1970, in Acevedo, Huila. My parents are from Acevedo. I have spent my whole life on the farm La Florida (in the rural district of La Marimba, in my beautiful municipality of Acevedo), which belonged to my parents. Thanks to the great love and the wise advice of my parents, I started working very young, learning to have my own things. It was so that I acquired my first plot of land through purchase to my father. I was gradually buying to him until completing 8 hectares. At 19 years of age I met the love of my life, Yolanda Torres Vela, who I married two years later to form a beautiful family of 6 children: Juan de Jesús, Javier Hernando, Claudia Milena, Diego Felipe, Eduar Gilberto and Ana Maria. My family has been my motivation to improve day after day and meet my dream of having a technologically advanced and certified farm to produce high-quality coffee, always protecting the environment.

I have taken part in the Cup of Excellence competitions because I want to be a farmer renowned for producing high-quality coffee, always having the support of my family, who are passionate about this work. I participated in 2005, 2007 and 2012, but I didn’t achieve good results. From then on I've been in the task of constantly improving with great effort, by being strict and thorough in the harvesting, wet processing and drying processes, obtaining great results like getting the second place in the 2015 Cup of Excellence competition.

Although I didn’t win the first place, I’m happy, because I have a farm certificated with 5 seals, highly productive, with high-quality coffee, always taking care of environment. And most importantly, by the hand of God and my beautiful family. I want to continue improving to have a farm with its own identity, recognized at country and global levels. Moreover, I want to set an example in my community, so the municipality and our department continue being recognized for producing specialty coffee.