Collaboration with Zamorano University

On 17 May 2016, the agreement between the Fondazione Ernesto Illy and the El Zamorano University (Honduras) was signed, with the aim of introducing the topic of coffee in the study path of the Pan-American University which offers university courses mainly dedicated to the agricultural industry. .

The duration of the agreement is 3 years (academic years 2016, 2017 and 2018), during which students enrolled in the 3rd and 4th year of the ordinary university course proposed by El Zamorano will be able to enroll in the optional module on coffee known as Asignatura Adicional de Café (30 training hours). The module was offered three times a year, once for each quarter.

The Asignatura Adicional de Café is composed of 5 modules held by professors graduated in the Master in Economics and Science of Coffee – Ernesto Illy:

1. Management of the plantation and cultivation of coffee
Olvin Alejandro Rodríguez Valladares (Honduras)
Master’s in Coffee Economics and Science – Ernesto Illy 2015

2. Coffee harvest and post-harvest
Juan Alfredo Pacas (El Salvador)
Master’s in Coffee Economics and Science – Ernesto Illy 2011

3. Selection, tasting and preparation for export
Stephany Dávila (Guatemala)
Master’s in Coffee Economics and Science – Ernesto Illy 2014

4. International green coffee markets
Mario Arroyo (Costa Rica)
Master’s in Coffee Economics and Science – Ernesto Illy 2013

5. Coffee roasting, grinding, extraction and packaging
Marjorie Canjura (El Salvador)
Master’s in Coffee Economics and Science – Ernesto Illy 2013

The first course of the Asignatura Adicional de Café was held in May 2016 and the project ended in December 2019.

Furthermore, the Fondazione Ernesto Illy has undertaken to offer financial aid (2018, 2019 and 2020) for the participation in the Master in Economics and Science of Coffee – Ernesto Illy to a deserving student who has attended the optional module on coffee at the El Zamorano University.

The second phase of the project started in 2019 in order to increase coffee crop yields in Central America through the precision agriculture technology introduced by expert technicians educated by Zamorano University.

From this perspective, the Fondazione Ernesto Illy entrusted professor Ney Sussumu Sakyama, agronomist from the University of Viçosa, the task of analyzing the potential of the University of Zamorano and to create a basic curriculum of coffee Agriculture 4.0 course to be introduced into the Agronomy curriculum, along with the creation of a Digital Coffee Agriculture network as an innovation strategy.