SMS launched first F1 hybrid results in Vietnam at the 29th Conference on Coffee Science 

In first week of September, the 29th ASIC Conference on Coffee Science was held in Hanoi, Vietnam.  

Four SMS members attended the conference: Haiya Zhang (China), Laurent Bossolasco (Asia), Edgardo Alpízar (Nicaragua) and Thuan Sarzynski (Vietnam), which gave SMS a great visibility. This participation was appreciated by the government representatives, partners from national research institutes, as well as by clients such as Nestlé, Illy. JDE, and Lavazza.

During the conference week, all coffee breaks were organized by Detech Coffee, a local partner of ACOM (ECOM Vietnam), who served ECOM-CIRAD’s hybrids Mundomaya and Starmaya coffee from trees planted four years ago in Son La province as part of BREEDCAFS project (Breeding Coffee for Agroforestry Systems, www.breedcafs.eu). 

On the third day of the conference, in a session dedicated to Farm Management, Thuan Sarzynski did a presentation as part of his PhD thesis research, demonstrating that F1 hybrids are more resistant to drought than traditional commercial varieties in northern Vietnam.  

On another occasion, SMS and ACOM’s commercial teams visited Detech coffee farms located in Son La province where 30 hectares of F1 hybrids have been planted for comparison purposes with current commercial variety Catimor. During the visit, the SMS management team could observe the vigor and yield precocity of F1 hybrids under agroforestry systems, as well as the tolerance to drought in summer and frost during winter.  

It’s important to mention that both intellectual property (IP) protection and registration for the commercial release of F1 hybrids require building long-term relationships with local authorities in order to raise mutual trust. In addition to Vietnam, Laurent Bossolasco is also working closely with the SMS managers of China, Indonesia, and PNG to start introducing and registering the high performing varieties of Mundo Maya, Centroamericano (H1), Starmaya, and Mariana. 

It will take a few more years to get the IP licenses and seed production gardens registered in these countries, but the work has already started with a motivated team and a great leadership.    

As Edgardo Alpízar, Nicaragua SMS Manager likes to say, 20 years of collaboration with CIRAD makes ECOM the sole trading company that can offer roasters real solutions to climate change and carbon reduction. Implementing F1 hybrids are what is motivating farmers to renovate their old coffee plantations”.

Article written by Edgardo Alpizar and Laurent Bossolasco