22 ICO REPORT
International Coffee Organization (ICO) members will have four candidates to choose from when they come to pick the agency’s next Executive Director in September, as Robin Stainer reports
T
heir names were released during the body’s latest meeting in London – the
first under the provisions of the new International Coffee Agreement (ICA), which entered into force on February 2 (see C&CI, March 2011, page 18). As widely predicted, Brazil –
which has been taking a greater interest in ICO affairs over the past year – has nominated a candidate for the top post, which had always been held by a Brazilian from the agency’s cre- ation in 1963 until the appoint- ment in 2002 of Colombian Nestor Osorio. He is Robério Oliveira Silva, who at present is director of the ministry of agricul- ture’s coffee department.
High profile
Apart from his wide experience of coffee matters - not only in the government, but also the private sector, as he was secre- tary-general of the Brazilian federation of coffee exporters for many years – Mr Silva also has a high international profile, which is an important asset. This came from running the Association of Coffee Producing Countries during its eight-year existence from 1994 to 2002 and his earli- er post as the government’s foreign trade co-ordinator. As Silva put it himself, he is "an old
face", but one with "new ideas to make the ICO work in a more dynamic way." Aged 47, so the youngest of the three serious candidates, he sees his aim as bringing renewed enthusiasm to the agency’s work and making the ICO more relevant to coffee farmers around the
world. A view that this had been neglect- ed when Osorio was in charge prompted some Brazilian politicians and sectors of the local coffee industry to question the ICO’s value. "I’d offer 1,000-1 against his not being
appointed," said one delegate, "and he did himself a lot of good by turning up at the meeting." Only one of the other candi- dates similarly put in an appearance - Mexico’s Rodolfo Trampe Taubert. Currently executive coordinator of the Mexican coffee association (AMECAFE), he is well known at the ICO through his membership of his country’s delegation for the past 10 years and his role as council president in 2009/10.
Lobbying begins
The presence of both men in London allowed them to start lobbying discreetly for the top ICO post and the betting is
Firm favourite identified for next Executive Director
The role of the Consultative Forum of Coffee Sector Finance is to "facilitate consultations on topics related to
finance and risk management… with particular emphasis on the needs of small- and medium-scale producers" (photo: EFICO)
that when the Council comes to make its choice in September it will be between Silva and Trampe. Like both men, the other credible candidate, India’s G V Krishna Rau, who was chairman of the Coffee Board of India from 2005 to 2010 and is now principal secretary to the gov- ernor of Karnataka in Bangalore, is popu- lar at the ICO, whose council he chaired in 2007/08. But his international experi- ence is relatively limited and his failure to attend the latest meeting, said one dele- gate, "did him no favours." Similarly absent was the fourth candi-
date, who is seen as a complete outsider. He is Gabon’s Christian Ruffin Silvère Ngoua, currently a freelance business consultant in Johannesburg and not only unknown at the ICO, but apparently hav- ing no experience of coffee.
Brazilian-dominated
Mr Silva is the clear favourite for the ICO post, with the only possible problem for him the fact that his appointment would mean Brazilians holding the two top ICO posts – him and José Sette. Formerly second-in-command, Sette
became acting executive director until the end of the 2010/11 coffee year when Osorio resigned at the end of October (see C&CI, November 2010, page 18). "I’m sure a way can be found round this," said a member of the Brazilian delega- tion, "and the new man in charge, whoev- er he is, will need Sette’s experience, at least in the first few years, as he learns on the job."
Seeking a consensus
The future scenario, as delegates see it, is that, after two of the other contenders have been voted out, a consensus will emerge in Mr Silva’s favour. "I hope to avoid a vote in the final round," ICO coun- cil chairman Ewald Wermuth of The Netherlands said, pointing out that the
May 2011 C&CI
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