For young people in many farming communities, agriculture has become a dirty word. But in Ocotepeque, Honduras, ag is cool.
Read moreTopics: Mexico and Central America | Stories of Impact | Youth |
Members of APROCASSI, a coffee cooperative in Peru, line up to apply for credit from the cooperative's internal credit fund. When asked about the effect that a rural business’ internal credit fund has on farmers, Root Capital advisor Fany Murillo answers with a single word: “epic.”
Read moreTopics: Advisory Services | Livelihoods | Mexico and Central America |
Lula Pérez, asesora de Root Capital. En diciembre del 2016, con la aproximación del cierre de la Iniciativa para la Resiliencia de los Productores de Café (CFRI, por sus siglas en inglés), aprovechamos la oportunidad para celebrar los resultados de este esfuerzo polifacético de canalizar capital y capacitación a empresas asociativas productoras de café en la lucha contra el brote de la roya en América Latina.
Read moreTopics: Advisory Services | En Español | Mexico and Central America | Staff Profiles |
A look at the challenges and decisions that agricultural entrepreneurs experience over the course of a year. PART I: HARVEST
Read moreTopics: Livelihoods | Mexico and Central America | Stories of Impact |
With Jose Dominguez, a coffee farmer and producer member of RAOS, a Root Capital client in Honduras The world of farmer finance, as we know it, is changing.
Read moreTopics: Mexico and Central America | Partnerships | South America |
Carmen Blandón, member of Root Capital client Solidaridad, at her home in Matagalpa, Nicaragua For 52-year-old Carmen Blandón, her coffee farm is a business. And she’s the boss.
Read moreTopics: Mexico and Central America | Women in Agriculture |
This year, the world will consume more coffee than ever before. And industry projections point to growing demand in the years ahead, especially in emerging markets. Take China, for example. During its annual investor meeting last month, Starbucks highlighted that it’s opening the equivalent of one new store in China every day. The problem, however, is that this rising global demand for coffee cannot be met with a dwindling supply.
Read moreTopics: Environment | Livelihoods | Mexico and Central America | News and Announcements | Partnerships | South America |
Kenia Ubeda, general manager of UCCEI, a Root Capital client in Matagalpa, Nicaragua Kenia Ubeda never thought she’d be running a coffee business. “I was an agronomist and a coffee farmer,” she says with a smile on her face. “I didn’t know the first thing about commercializing coffee.” But the community leaders who tapped Kenia to found and run UCCEI, a farmer cooperative in the coffee-fueled town of Matagalpa, Nicaragua, knew she had what it took. And in 2009, Kenia rose to the challenge and became UCCEI’s general manager, overseeing a business currently sourcing from over 900 smallholder farmers in the region.
Read moreTopics: Livelihoods | Mexico and Central America | Stories of Impact | Women in Agriculture |
Sonia Vasquez, agricultural extension officer for COMSA, presenting during the first day of the workshop For many of our clients, agricultural extension is a lifeline for the farm families they serve. “Extension,” as it is known in agriculture circles, is the delivery of agronomic best practices that can help farmers increase productivity, adapt to climate change and increase profitability. In December, we released an issue brief that highlighted, among other things, barriers to effective extension and how Root Capital works to help clients overcome these barriers using a shared value approach.
Read moreTopics: Advisory Services | Environment | Mexico and Central America |
A young woman picks coffee on a farm associated with the Maya Ixil coop. Photo credit: Sean Hawkey. With towering oaks, gushing waterfalls and long green stretches of bountiful coffee trees, Guatemala’s Maya Ixil region is a place of lyrical beauty. But listen closely enough, and the lyrics tell an entirely different story – a story of an ugly past marked by heartbreaking violence.
Read moreTopics: Mexico and Central America | Peace | Stories of Impact |