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The National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, () often abbreviated Fedecafé, is a non-profit business association, popularly known for its "Juan Valdez" marketing campaign. The federation was founded in 1927 as a business cooperative that promotes the production and exportation of Colombian coffee. It currently represents more than 500,000 producers, most of whom are small family owned farms. While many factors contributed to the impressive increase in production and revenue, the rise and success of the Colombian coffee industry reflects the Federation's rigid adherence to the three objectives which were originally offered to justify its creation: 1) to protect the industry, 2) to study its problems, and 3) to further its interests.〔Uribe C., Andrés; ''Brown Gold, The Amazing Story of Coffee''; Random House, Inc., New York, 1954, Pg 113, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 55-5793〕 The federation supports research and development in the production of coffee through grants to local universities and through federation sponsored research institutes. The federation also monitors production to ensure export quality standards are met. The highly successful Juan Valdez branding concept was developed in 1981 to distinguish 100% Colombian coffee from coffee blended with beans from other countries. The trademark made its first TV appearance in 1983 featuring a country farmer (campesino) carrying coffee on his mule ''Conchita''. == The arrival of coffee in Colombia == The species of ''Coffea arabica'' came to Americas around the year 1690, and it was first cultivated in the Dutch East Indies. From there, the Dutch sent the coffee seeds to their colonies in Surinam, and thereafter to the French Guiana and Brazil. The French, through other routs, took it to Guadeloupe and Martinique, their main two colonies in the Caribbean. It seems that the Jesuits were the first to introduce seeds of coffee in the ''"Nueva Granada"'' (today Colombia) by the year 1723. The first experiments in growing coffee in Colombia are recorded in the 18th century. Although some coffee plantations were initiated during the first half of the 19th century, it was not until the second half of the Century that the coffee industry was consolidated as an economic generator of employment, wealth, and hard currencies. Coffee seeds arrived late in Colombia, compared with other Latin American countries. According to historians, the first seeds came in through Cúcuta, coming from the Venezuelan Andés, and penetrated all across the Santander provinces. From there, its cultivation spread to Cundinamarca and other provinces. Nobody knows for sure who brought the first coffee seeds into the country. Some historians give credit to the Jesuits monks, who had farming lands in the ''"Llanos Orientales"'', Valle del Cauca and other regions. Other historians point to father Romero, the parochial priest of Salazar de las Palmas, Norte de Santander. There are stories that narrate that father Romero would impose to his parishioners, in penance for their sins, to plant coffee seeds in their backyards.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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