New Post Harvest Management Center Benefits Farmers in Madriz

On April 30, U.S. Ambassador Paul A. Trivelli and Steven Fondriest, Chief of the Trade and Agro Business Office of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Nicaragua inaugurated a Post Harvest Management Center that will benefit vegetable producers in the departments of Madriz and Nueva Segovia.

The construction of this center is part of USAID’s food security program to help increase incomes and reduce the incidence of malnutrition in these two departments.   USAID has provided $2.5 million dollars annually since 2002 to the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) to provide technical assistance for crop diversification; marketing of products, water and sanitation projects; and health activities.  The program is implemented in more than 151 communities in Nueva Segovia and Madriz and benefits 12,500 families.

Together with new techniques of production like the use of green houses and drip-irrigation systems, the USAID program with ADRA has established commercial agreements with national and regional buyers such as Hortifruti/Wal-Mart, Agrolempa in El Salvador, and Desarrollo Agrícola S.A. (DAISA) in Nicaragua.  The new center will help producers meet the quality standards of these buyers.

Following the inauguration of the Post Harvest Management Center, Ambassador Trivelli attended a Tomato Fair in the same municipality, where he had the chance to talk with producers from Nueva Segovia and Madriz.