Helping a Local Community Consolidate Cacao Production for the International Market
March 18, 2024
Our Peruvian sister organization Conservación Amazónica – ACCA has been helping the Agroforestry Association of the Infierno Native Community in Madre de Dios, Peru, strategize ways to advance their cacao production to enter the international market. On February 16th, the association held an exchange of experiences at the facilities of the Agrobosque Cooperative to develop a strategy to increase production volumes and access international markets. This meeting followed a recent meeting with the directors of the Agrobosque Cooperative on February 12th, in which they established purchase agreements for cacao produced by the community.
The Agroforestry Association of the Infierno Native Community has 21 hectares (about 52 acres) of agroforestry systems dedicated to the cultivation of cacao, in addition to having a processing plant with the capacity to process 19 thousand kilos (41,888 pounds) of cacao pulp per month. Partnering with the Agrobosque Cooperative would help provide them with technical support in the post-harvest processes, delivery of quality cacao, and the opportunity to obtain and maintain organic certification for crops associated with their agroforestry systems. Additionally, this exchange of experiences helped them open doors to jointly participate in various trade promotion activities and business conferences at the national level.
Thanks to the technical advice provided by Conservación Amazónica – ACCA and funding from the EROL Foundation, the Infierno Native Community can develop a solid commercial strategy, enabling them to make their agroforestry production profitable and actively participate in fairs and business roundtables at the national level, such as local fairs and the ExpoAmazónica. This articulated work in collaboration with Agrobosque is important for local communities, such as the Infierno Native Community, to potentially increase profits upon entering the international market.