- In Jaén, Peru, Juan Vásquez and his wife went from harvesting 30 quintals of coffee per hectare to harvesting 70 quintals per hectare.
In the high mountains of Huabal, Jaén, Peru, Juan Vásquez has found his purpose among the coffee plantations his family has cultivated for generations. As a child, he learned the art of caring for coffee plants under the guidance of his father and grandfather, who worked the land using traditional methods and limited technical knowledge. Today, as a father of three children and husband to Nancy Medina, Juan strives to transform that legacy into a source of prosperity for his family and community.
“What I like most about being a coffee producer is seeing how the plants grow and develop. Coffee not only gives us income, it also unites us as a family,” Juan reflects.
Years ago, in search of new opportunities, Juan left Huabal to settle in San Martín, in the Peruvian jungle. There he continued to grow coffee, but his efforts were thwarted by coffee rust, a disease that destroyed much of his plantation. Despite the challenges, he decided to return to his homeland and start over. With determination, he established a new farm in Huabal, determined to overcome the difficulties that had limited his family’s productivity for years.
“My parents and grandparents grew coffee empirically, without knowing the proper spacing or technical management to establish a plantation. That prevented the plants from reaching their full potential,” says Juan, recalling the lessons of his childhood.
MOCCA es una iniciativa financiada por el Departamento de Agricultura de los Estados Unidos (USDA), a través de su Programa de Alimentos para el Progreso (Food for Progress Program), que busca mejorar la productividad agrícola y expandir el comercio de productos agrícolas. El programa MOCCA es ejecutado por un consorcio liderado por TechnoServe, Lutheran World Relief lidera las actividades del programa cacao.
Convinced that knowledge was key to improving his production, Juan joined the MOCCA program, where he learned innovative practices that revolutionized his way of working. “In the MOCCA trainings I learned to fertilize in the correct doses and times. I also learned to control pests and diseases that previously caused me to lose many plants,” he explains with satisfaction.
“My productivity has increased! I used to harvest 30 quintals per hectare, now I am harvesting up to 70 quintals per hectare, which has significantly improved my family’s income.”
Juan Vásquez
Coffee producer
Jaén, Perú
Thanks to the profits, he was able to buy land in the city, invest in clothing for his children, and enjoy family outings, something that was not possible before.
Nancy, his wife, is a fundamental pillar in this transformation. Together they work on the farm as a team, taking care of every detail to guarantee a better future for their children.
But Juan’s commitment does not end on his farm. Inspired by the positive results, he shares his knowledge with other producers in the community. “My neighbors see how my farm has improved and they want to learn too. I teach them what I learned at MOCCA because I believe that we can all prosper,” he says proudly.
For Juan Vásquez, coffee is much more than a means of subsistence; it is a symbol of resilience, family unity, and progress. With each plant that blooms on his farm, he also cultivates a future full of hope for his family and his community.
