Institutions and mechanisms that facilitate value addition and market integration for family farming organizations in the panela value chain in Colombia. Fedepanela

The National Federation of Panela Producers (Fedepanela) is a national trade organization representing panela producers in Colombia. It manages the Panela Development Fund, which is financed through parafiscal contributions from producers, to support the sector’s development. Its mission is to improve the living conditions of all producers working in the panela subsector, to make this activity competitive and profitable, to defend the collective interests and fair income of its members, and to contribute to the technological, social, commercial, and environmental development of the rural sector in Colombia. Panela production is an agroindustry largely operated—90%—by small- and medium-scale producers. It is the second-largest generator of employment in Colombia, after coffee. Fedepanela is in charge of managing the Panela Development Fund, made up of parafiscal contributions, which are special levies established by law for specific agricultural or fisheries subsectors for reasons of public interest. These are public resources collected with the aim of benefiting the same sector through investment programs. According to the laws that govern them, they are not part of the national government’s general budget (Fenalce, n.d.).