A new TechnoServe study points to a lack of financing options for smallholder coffee farmers in Central America, where a total of $1.5 billion is needed to replant farms that have been devastated by coffee leaf rust.
TechnoServe helped coffee producer groups become more profitable by growing and selling lucrative specialty coffee. Using tools such as traceability software and quality management systems, TechnoServe business advisors trained the producers in industry best practices.
TechnoServe partnered with the Millennium Challenge Corporation to reduce poverty and boost economic development in northern El Salvador by strengthening the dairy value chain.
Impulsa Tu Empresa aims to help small and growing businesses boost their growth through mentoring and business training. Since its launch in 2012, the program has increased the sales of over 1,500 businesses and helped create 1,600 new jobs in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Burkina Faso.
In early 2001, much of El Salvador was devastated by massive landslides. Thousands of already poor farming families in the highlands were left homeless and destitute. Ana Rosa Graf, an architect from San Salvador, joined the rebuilding efforts. But she soon realized that without sustainable livelihoods, people would still struggle…
When coffee prices tumbled to record lows earlier this decade, the livelihoods of thousands of Central American farmers were suddenly jeopardized. So TechnoServe identified a new opportunity for them: high-quality commercial and specialty coffees that could fetch premium prices in the changing market. With support from the Inter-American Development…
Just two years ago, Beto Gonzales was almost forced from his land in El Salvador. He and his fellow producers of jocote, a fruit native to Central America, had grown accustomed to receiving subsistence wages for the sale of their crops. Each year, the traditional methods Beto applied to grow…
It's coffee harvest season in Nicaragua, and agronomic training is helping farmers like Juana Sanchez rebound after an outbreak of leaf rust that has devastated coffee farms throughout the region.
