Organic Agriculture Cooperative

Since 1990, Nicaraguan agricultural cooperatives have had a tough time – for 16 years there was no institutional support from the government, and no credits available to farmers. While support for farmers has improved since 2007, access to credit remains the largest problem facing Nicaraguan agriculture.

Our agricultural export coop, COPROEXNIC, is grower-owned. This means that the small producers work together to sell directly to clients, guaranteeing that no middle man holds power over them and the farmers control their own destinies over their own contracts. Of course, it also means that they themselves had to repay the loans for crops destroyed during Hurricane Mitch, an unanticipated debt of $142,000.  Finally in June of 2006, eight years later, they paid the final installment and successfully paid back every penny of the original loan!  

The CDCA's role has been to introduce Nicaraguan farming cooperatives to the idea that they can make their own choices and plans; to the option of having their crops become certified as organic (and thus be able to sell them at a higher price); and to the possibility of making a living wage. Each step and each contract has been in partnership with the members of COPROEXNIC. From establishing initial contacts with certifying organizations, processing plants, buyers, and shippers, this project has grown over the years. In 2006 alone, COPROEXNIC exported six containers of organic sesame, one container of organic coffee and 3,000 pounds of organic cashews, all of which represented more than $300,000 in sales for small organic farmers! In 2010 we anticipate 300,000 pounds of organic cotton fiber.

Since 1994, the  CDCA has promoted sustainable agriculture in Nicaragua by:

• Providing growers with loans for planting, fixing equipment, and harvesting and providing tractors when needed
• Training growers in organic agriculture and assisting hundreds of growers in getting organic and fair trade certification
• Marketing grower products internationally, arranging product processing and shipping as well as sending Nicaraguan representatives to international organic conferences
• Forming a cooperative business of growers to market their organic products
• Keeping all our growers from losing their land after Hurricane Mitch devastated all the crops in the country by helping growers repay huge loans
• Hiring an agronomist to work with grower groups and export containers of product

One of the major drawbacks for organic export growers is the time after harvest spent waiting for the crops to be bought and then for payment (after processing and shipping). Through a grant, we can now pay growers up front and absorb the waiting period ourselves.

COPROEXNIC exports organic sesame, coffee, honey, peanuts, black beans, soy and cotton.   In addition, by-products of these are being processed in a feed mill.  Please contact us if you'd like to do business with them.

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