Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

Agribusiness Agricultural chains Rural development

Peru and the Dominican Republic share experiences and best practices for successful women-led cacao cooperatives

Tiempo de lectura: 3 mins.

A mission comprising 17 participants from Peru, Canada and the Dominican Republic concluded 4 days of one-on-one interactions, training, site visits and meetings.

During the meeting, participants of the Peruvian cooperative, Oro Verde, shared their own experiences and successes in obtaining certifications.

Ottawa, 26 August 2016 (IICA). Support from commodity associations, cooperatives and government institutions, cemented by close interactions among small rural producers, is essential for small cooperatives and producers. This is the case of CHOCAL, a rural cooperative managed by women in Altamira, Dominican Republic.

This was one of the main conclusions of a mission with small scale producers, organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) through its delegations in Canada, Peru and the Dominican Republic.

The mission held an informative session with representatives of the Centro de Exportación e Inversiones de la República Dominicana (CEI-RD). This organization promotes and encourages exports and investment in order make the country more competitive in the international markets.

The CEI-RD is one of the local agencies that helped CHOCAL. This took the form of technical training, access to financial resources and direct support through the commercialization process. Such assistance was key for CHOCAL, which comprises homestay women who had the strong desire of becoming entrepreneurs in the area of chocolate.

During the meeting, participants of the Peruvian cooperative, Oro Verde, shared their own experiences and successes in obtaining certifications, as well as their views on the importance of reaching international markets.

The initiative is part of an IICA project: “Enhancing value-added opportunities of small scale cacao producers in Peru and the Dominican Republic”.

 

More information: audia.barnett@iica.int  frank.lam@iica.int

 

Share

Related news​

Washington D.C.

March 13, 2025

During visit to Washington D.C. by Director General Manuel Otero, U.S. Department of Agriculture and IICA ratify strategic partnership to drive agricultural modernization in the Americas

The United States and IICA are working together to prevent and control these diseases, which require joint action, as they threaten food security and the livelihoods of producers.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

San José, Costa Rica

March 13, 2025

IICA and its partners expand research on the benefits of soil carbon sequestration  

Engineers, Carlos Eduardo Cerri and Mauricio Cherubim, gave details on a recently published study, which was conducted over a period of more than a year, examining the results of efforts to halt soil degradation and to make it more resilient to extreme climate events.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

San José

March 12, 2025

Brought together by Business at OECD (BIAC), Bayer and IICA, experts discuss practical solutions to promote long-term investment in sustainable agriculture in Costa Rica

The event was also used to explore other issues such as the importance of mobilizing financial resources for the development of regenerative agriculture with key stakeholders and the OECD; identify concrete solutions and partnerships to support sustainable agriculture initiatives; improve collaboration between governments, the private sector and international organizations to promote the development of sustainable agriculture; and elevate the importance of agricultural issues in global discussions.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins