investing in Mother Nature’s most valuable resource – People

“I learned to be a farmer from my dad and I always worked the land with him. Five years ago, I decided to work independently. I started planting 1mz of yuca, which was challenging at the beginning because I had problems with the drought, but I kept planting in the following years…. Being organized in a farmer group with Prospera Foods, opened doors for me.”

“Mauricio learned about Prospera Foods through another farmer who advised him to organize in a farmer nucleus to sell to the processing plant. He sold his first 2mz of yucca to the plant about 5 years ago and had good profit since he could sell the entire crop at once.

Since then Mauricio has actively participated in his farmer nucleus and became the leader. He has received training, technical assistance, access to loans, high-quality seeds, and agricultural inputs.”

“In our community, people mainly work in agriculture, especially planting yucca. The challenge we have is not having a steady income since this crop is planted in May and harvested between December and January. For the rest of the year we have little income…This year, Prospera supported me with the installation of an irrigation system and a greenhouse in my farm…six month later I have already harvested the yucca, which together with the vegetables have generated more than $ 1,000.00 in sales.”