‘‘Caracterización de la cadena de valor del café bajo la modalidad tradicional y asociativa en el cantón Puyango, provincia de Loja período 2019 – 2020’

This research was carried out in order to characterize and diagram the coffee value chain in the Puyango canton in the traditional and associative modality, with each of its links and actors. In the development, the methodological guide for facilitation in value chains Value Links was required, with which the diagnosis of the current situation, characterization and mapping of the traditional and associative value chain was carried out, in order to later be able to compare them. To identify the base population of the research, information provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock was used as references, in addition, since it was a quantitative research, based on non-probabilistic samples, the chain or ball sampling was used jointly. snow and for convenience, since it was required to identify key participants who were more easily accessed and they in turn provided information on possible participants in the sample that could expand the information. In the research, it was possible to establish value chains in both the traditional and associative modes, which are made up of suppliers, producers, collectors, processors and marketers. It was possible to identify specific characteristics of each of the actors, mainly the producer; who generates greater added value, since the sowing, care, harvest and post-harvest processes have a direct impact on the quality of the coffee, however, it is the one that presents the greatest problems, mainly due to low economic performance since it is the intermediaries who have better profitability, this happens mainly with those independent producers who do not have tools that allow them to better develop their production processes, as in the case of associated producers, who have the support of the associations in the case of PROCAP , has organic certification, fair price, among others, and the AGROSOLEDAD association that is currently responsible not only for the production of raw material but has also managed to establish its own brand of roasted and ground coffee.