Our Mission

Our mission is to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers throughout Latin America. We do this through evidence-based research and strategic advice to the private, public and NGO sectors working in agricultural supply chains.
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Our Vision and Values

Our vision is to be the leading academic centre for research and advice on agricultural supply chains in Latin America. However, while our location is regional, our thinking is global. Our ambition is to share the lessons learned locally, with supply chains globally.
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Our Point of View

Agriculture lies at the centre of four major global concerns: poverty and hunger; population growth; a demand for more and better quality food; climate change and environmental degradation.
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Who we are:

CIMS is a small and dynamic non-profit organisation based in Costa Rica focused on sustainable agricultural value chains. CIMS was established in 2003 as a private initiative of the Latin American Center for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development (CLACDS), part of INCAE, Latin America’s leading business school.

What we do:

We have an established and solid track record of research and strategic advice on the business, economics and sustainability of tropical agricultural supply chains. Our research into the true economic impacts of sourcing practices in the coffee sector, for example, have ground-breaking implications for many other agricultural supply chains. Our ambition is to become the leading global expert on Latin American agricultural supply chains.

Who we work with:

We work with a wide range of private, public and NGO sectors, locally, regionally and globally. Among our multi-national clients we include Nestlé Nespresso, Walmart and Rainforest Alliance. Regional clients include: Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the Costa Rica Coffee National Institute (ICAFE).