Sergio Ticas Reyes inherited “Los Planes farm” from his grandfather, José Onofre Ticas. In the beginning, Los Planes was grown with Typica variety only; Sergio’s father, also named José Onofre Ticas, preserved this cultivar until 1996, when his son renovated the farm with Bourbon and Pacamara varieties.

Sergio Ticas is a well-known coffee producer from Citalá, and this year he’s very happy to represent once again the Chalatenango department with Finca “Los Planes” farm. He is very happy to see that many neighboring coffee growers are more enthusiastic about picking only ripe cherries and process their coffees in a more careful way, he believes this is something due to the CoE event that has been changing visions in coffee growing. The coffee lot coming from “Los Planes” farm was processed on his wet mill and was treated under gourmet preparation protocol, including fresh and clean water from natural spring, milling and sun drying on patios, participating in CoE has allowed Sergio to be more careful in the production and processing of his coffee, and he’s always learning something new every year, he says.

Coffee plantations in “Los Planes” are relatively young since he keeps replanting and replacing old trees. When Sergio started working the farm, he obtained vegetative materials and technical assistance from PROCAFE (Salvadoran coffee research agency), but now he uses his own nurseries. The treatment of his farm has been very traditional with appreciative shade pruning, weed control, rationalized fertilizers usage, among others. Coffee trees density averages some 3,500 trees/hectare. Almost 70 people are employed during harvesting and 10 people permanently work in the farm.

Sergio keeps a permanent relationship with the community. He donated land to the community for the construction of a water tank. For Sergio, his workers are key, so he wants them to be happy with their jobs, he has increased the wages and has lend land to his foremen for cash crops, helping them to keep more income for other activities. He keeps a cypress forest from which he provides firewood for his workers as well, while keeping a more stable microclimate and generates home for the local fauna. He maintains one natural lagoon and water spring benefiting local fauna such as ducks, deer, tepezcuintles, agouti, and many species of birds, among other.

Additional information
Location: Citalá, Chalatenango
Coffee varieties: 75% Pacamara, 25% Bourbon
Type of Shade: Matazano, Aguacate Mico, Manzana Rosa, Ingas Sp.
Average Annual Rainfall: 2,250 mm
Average Temperature: 12º C
Type of Soil: Clay loam
Total Production: (60kg) 260 bags
Mill and company where lot was process: Beneficio Los Planes Other crops: corn and beans Fauna: Ducks, deer, tepezcuintles, cotuzas, and many species of birds, among other

GPS Coordinates
Latitude: 14º 22’ 56.79’’ N
Longitude: 89º 17’ 12.74’’ W