Specialty coffee drives development in Sumapaz

By: Alejandro García Suárez – Advisory Office for Communications.

The University of Cundinamarca continues to strengthen partnerships that connect knowledge with rural and productive development in the region. Through its Agronomic Engineering program at the Fusagasugá campus, the institution supports processes that enhance the quality, competitiveness, and sustainability of the coffee sector in the Sumapaz region.

On February 25, 2026, the program held a meeting with the winning coffee growers of the Fourth International Meeting of Specialty Coffee 2025, a competition that included the participation of producers and delegations from countries such as Brazil, Chile and Mexico, as well as Colombian representatives, especially from the Sumapaz territory.

Jonathan Córdoba Fontecha, coordinator of Agronomic Engineering, highlighted the relevance of the coffee growers' association to the university's area of influence and explained that the producers who achieved a rating higher than 82 points in cup quality were linked to an academic and technical support program led by the University.

This process includes the awarding of the Specialty Coffee and Cup Quality Seal, an institutional recognition that highlights producers who stand out for their quality standards and their commitment to building added value around coffee, from planting to marketing with their own brand.

The support includes ongoing professional advice aimed at maintaining and improving the quality conditions of the product, understanding that coffee excellence is the result of a permanent process of innovation, learning and continuous improvement.

For Timothee Uehlinger, coffee farmer at the Chuguaca farm in Silvania and winner of first place in the 2025 international cupping competition, this recognition represents a technical validation of the work done on the farm, “Receiving an objective evaluation of the coffee allows us to recognize the effort behind each stage of the process and continue improving the quality.”.

For her part, Gloria Jeannette Buitrago, from the El Recuerdo farm, which came in second place, highlighted that university support allows them to add value to their products through the quality seal, strengthening consumer confidence and positioning the specialty coffees of the region.

Likewise, Aura Estella Mora, producer of the Madre Agua agroecological farm in Fusagasugá, which came in third place, noted that this recognition boosts the commercial visibility of local coffee growers and motivates other producers to move towards higher quality standards.

During this initial phase, the University will continue to develop technical workshops and follow-up processes that guarantee the sustainability of the recognition and promote new opportunities for more growers in the region.

This work reflects the commitment of the Transmodern Digital Educational Model (MEDIT) from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences to integrating science, technology, and innovation with the realities of the region. Through dialogue between academia and producers, the University promotes training that transforms knowledge into real solutions, strengthening rural entrepreneurship, agricultural sustainability, and regional development with a human and translocal focus.

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