The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, has recently approved a $931,246 grant for a project with Ingemann Nicaragua, an anchor company in the fine cocoa and beekeeping sectors, that will seek to protect the livelihoods of one thousand small and medium-sized fine cocoa and honey producers located in the departments of Nueva Segovia, Matagalpa, and Jinotega from the growing impact of climate change.
The project will be based on three pillars: access to quality information on climate in a suitable format; the design, dissemination, and implementation of practical solutions and technologies to address those impacts; and access to credit to purchase those solutions.
According to Germanwatch and the World Bank, Nicaragua ranks fourth in the world among the countries hardest hit by climate change, and is the second-poorest in Latin America and the Caribbean, after Haiti.
Eighty percent of Nicaraguans depend on agriculture, which continues to be the main sector in the national economy.
Small farmers (with fewer than 3.5 hectares) play a decisive role in the agriculture sector, given that they account for 75% of all farmers. A study by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) estimates that by the year 2050 the areas suitable for growing coffee in Nicaragua will shrink by between 30% and 50%.
Fine cocoa has high potential for replacing coffee in this panorama. The project will carry out actions to promote greater diversification of production at those altitudes.
In order to achieve its objective, the project will first seek to generate climate information and design resilient business models, including an analysis of the fine cocoa and honey value chains and the strengthening of early warning and climate monitoring systems.
Moreover, it will seek to strengthen producers’ capacities through training in areas such as interpretation and monitoring of climate information, introduction of resilient technologies, and management of agro-forestry systems and genetic material.
Finally, the project will work with financial institutions to contribute to improving conditions for better access to credit for the purchase of resilient technological solutions.
This project is financed under the PROADAPT facility, which was created with the support of the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) and used to support business models that enhance climate resilience in specific economic sectors in Latin America and the Caribbean.
About the MIF
The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, is funded by 39 countries and supports private sector-led development benefiting low-income populations and the poor—their businesses, their farms, and their households.
The aim is to give them tools to boost their incomes: access to markets and the skills to compete in those markets, access to finance, and access to basic services, including green technology.
A core MIF mission is to act as a development laboratory—experimenting, pioneering, and taking risks to build and support successful micro, small, and medium business models.
Learn more at www.fomin.org
About Ingemann Nicaragua
Ingemann is a family-owned company of Danish origin established in Nicaragua in 2007. It is an output of the “Business 2 Business” program of DANIDA, the Danish government’s development agency.
The Ingemann project develops agreements with small producers that guarantee purchases at better-than-market prices, while providing technical assistance for small producers. Ingemann has established itself as an anchor company in the fine cocoa and honey sectors.
Internationally, Ingemann is becoming a point of reference for its innovative approach to genetic selection, agricultural techniques, and post-harvest management.
Learn more at http://ingemann.com.ni/
