Registration Delays Keep Smallholders From Fair‑Price Programs

At the San Vicente Cooperative Council office, María López, a third‑generation coffee farmer, shuffled through a stack of forms that have sat untouched for weeks. The air was thick with the scent of fresh paper and the low hum of a ceiling fan, but the mood was anything but light. López waited for her land‑registration request to be entered into the federal system, a step required before her farm could qualify for the fair‑price scheme that stabilises coffee earnings each season.

The Federal Office for Cooperative Affairs confirmed that its backlog now exceeds 4,200 pending registrations, a rise of 27 % since the start of the year. Officials attribute the surge to a combination of outdated digitisation tools and a surge in new member‑farm applications after recent cooperative reforms. Until the record is updated, farms cannot receive the guaranteed price contracts that shield them from volatile market swings.

Cooperative leaders, including Council member Ana Paredes, have scheduled a meeting with the office’s regional director next week to demand an emergency acceleration plan. The council hopes to secure a temporary fast‑track that would allow at least 500 critical farms to be entered before the upcoming harvest. Details of the proposed measures will be reported after the meeting.