BIOGRAPHY

Sergio Cedeño, born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, has 37 years of experience in agricultural production and international trade.
For 22 years, Cedeño has been general manager for Industrial Agrícola Cañas, a leading cocoa (791 acres), banana (1,325 acres), teak (350 acres), and mango (1,125 acres) producer and exporter in Ecuador. Industrial Agrícola Cañas owns the farm “Hacienda Cañas,” a pioneer in the development of clonal cocoa CCN-51’s technified crops in Ecuador. The farm has the largest national clonal cocoa nursery, which produces 500,000 cocoa plants per year. The farm is also a pioneer in agricultural tourism in Ecuador with the development and promotion of the “Cocoa Tour” along the farm’s cocoa plantations and facilities.

Previously, Cedeño was credit manager for agricultural loans at Banco del Pacífico in Ecuador. Prior to joining Banco del Pacífico, Cedeño held for 10 years several managerial positions in agricultural companies focused on cocoa, rice, banana and cattle. Cedeño is currently Director and Founder of APROCAFA, a Cocoa Growers Association, and President of “Fundación de Cultura Montubia,” a non-profit organization for preserving coastal Ecuadorian farmers’ traditions and folklore. Cedeño belongs to the fifth generation of his family growing cocoa in Ecuador. Cedeño earned an Agronomist degree from Zamorano University in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in 1973.