Access to Sustainable Markets & Food Security for Nicaragua's Coffee & Cocoa Producers
ongoing
Nicaragua has the lowest productive performance of the Central America region in coffee and cocoa production. More than 90% of national production comes from small producers, who employ traditional crop management with severe limitations for reinvestment.
Nicaragua has the lowest productive performance of the Central America region in coffee and cocoa production. More than 90% of national production comes from small producers, who employ traditional crop management with severe limitations for reinvestment. Key barriers for coffee and cocoa producing families in Nicaragua are limited access to national and international markets, limited access to financial services, low productivity, and a high level of food insecurity.
SNV's solutions strengthen inter-institutional relationships, the capacity and technical quality of technicians and promoters, address market demand and adequate technology/support services for coffee and cocoa production, as well as ongoing monitoring and follow-up. The main objective of this project is to increase the income, improve food security and livelihoods for 5,000 smallholder coffee and cocoa producers in the departmental regions of Esteli, Madriz, Nueva Segovia, Matagalpa, Jinotega, and Rio San Juan. Other goals include the generation of new jobs, improving Nicaragua's positioning in differentiated coffee markets, economic diversification and improvement of families' nutrition security. The project was launched in 2013, and will run until 2020.
Main components of the project:
Access to markets
Improvement of producers organizations’ business management
Technical assistance and technological innovation
Food security
Access to financial services
The improvement of productivity and the possibility to sell a higher volume of higher value coffee and cocoa to new markets, is closely correlated with increased income and economic capacity. For these coffee and cocoa producing families, the increase in income will be up to 35% by the end of the project. This will give them the opportunity to make improvements in product infrastructure, direct investments in crops and in the home, and improve the availability of resources to invest in food, education and other basic family needs. Additionally, the establishment of bio-intensive gardens will allow 800 beneficiary families to access to at least two basic grains crops and two vegetable products, thereby improving their nutrition and health.
