USAID Finances Roots and Tubers Processing Plant in Tuma-La Dali

On May 16, 2007, the Director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in Nicaragua, Alex Dickie, together with Julie Peters, Director of TechnoServe in Nicaragua, inaugurated a Processing Plant for Roots and Tubers in Tuma-La Dalia, Matagalpa. The new plant will give producers the opportunity to increase the quality of their products to meet market demands.

The new plant will benefit the 43 members of the Jorge Salazar Cooperative, as well as 100 more producers in the area. From 2005 to 2006, the cooperative has exported 118 containers of products, with total sells of $ 1.2 million dollars. In 2007, 33 containers have been exported as of May, with $312,000 in sales. These activities have generated 80 permanent jobs, the majority of whom are women working at the plant.

USAID has supported the Jorge Salazar Cooperative since October 2004, as part of a crop diversification project in the coffee-growing areas that were affected by a fall in coffee prices. The project, implemented by TechnoServe, provided technical assistance and market contacts.
 
As a result of the project, the producers have diversified their products, and they are now producing roots and tubers as their primary products. They have also established contracts through USAID with buyers and exporters such as Hortifruti/Waltmart Centroamérica, CISA Exporter and Tecnoagro.

In less than 2 years, the cooperative has increased its capacity to meet local, regional and international market demands.  The new processing plant will improve hygiene and efficiency and will allow the cooperative to keep growing.