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Case Study: Market Access

Ismael López

Farming First Farming First

Ismael’s story:

Making Cocoa Count for Latin American Farmers

Nicaragua

Name

Ismael Espinoza López, 39

Location

Popoyuapa, Rivas, Nicaragua

Farm Type

Fruit

We have to pay attention to the use of water, it is a valuable resource.

When I first arrived in this community, there was so much water that, in the back of the farm, I used to sink to my waist.

I installed my own piping and dug two shallow wells to extract water for fumigation, and I am maintaining tanks to collect rainwater.


Ismael runs a 17-hectare farm in Nicaragua, with 2,500 dwarf banana plants, 1,000 Criollo cocoa trees, 80 fruit trees, and 1.5 hectares of forest trees. In some respects, he is lucky, because his farm has electrical and phone hook-ups, as well as access to a paved road. But there are problems supplying it with water.

When I first arrived in this community, there was so much water that, in the back of the farm, I used to sink to my waist.

The Proyecto Cacaos del Sur, or Southern Cocoa Project, is an initiative run in conjunction with the PIMCO Foundation to increase cocoa production in three provinces of Nicaragua. The programme benefits 250 farmers (the majority of whom are women) and supports these farmers in making the most of their land, and tackle the challenges they are facing, such as flooding in Ismael’s case.

The programme aims to generate income for poor families by giving them the opportunity to produce fine cocoa to sell to national and international buyers. Farmers also generate additional income, and increase local food security, by producing and selling coconuts and other fruits, such as bananas, for local markets. The project identifies fine cocoa trees originally from the region and helps to reproduce them through nurseries. Then, producers plant the cocoa trees, and TechnoServe provides training on an integrated production system that includes fruit cultivation. Thanks to the technical help from TechnoServe, Ismael’s plants and trees are no longer hindered by excess water.

“Now it’s dry. Some of my neighbours are stripping their land just to plant bananas, and sometimes they ask me why my farm is different.”

“To solve the water problem for my home and my plants, I installed my own piping and dug two shallow wells to extract water for fumigation, and I am maintaining tanks to collect rainwater.”

Ismael’s calls to action:

1

I encourage farmers to use new production techniques, in order to be more productive without damaging the environment. I learned that using environmentally friendly inputs with the crops reduces tree disease and helps us save money. You invest in inputs and you reduce the cost of treating diseases.

2

I would suggest that the government and others support our operations with loans, so that we can use that money as working capital to invest in our production system.

3

I think all farmers should pay attention to the use of water, it is a valuable resource and a limited one sometimes.

SDGs COVERED:

SDG1
SDG2
SDG3
SDG5
SDG8
SDG10
SDG12
SDG13
SDG15

Case study prepared by:

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