During the summer there is a popular fruit stand in Delhi Township, Ohio called Burwinkel Farms. For Burwinkels to produce the food and get it to market they need seeds, agricultural tools, and expertise. They have those things, as do many farmers in the United States.
But in developing countries smaller farmers need help to get their own operation off the ground and producing more food. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), recognizing this, has launched the Purchase for Progress program.
If food is produced locally in a developing country it has a tremendous, positive domino effect. It helps expand the business of local farmers and fights poverty in their community. It also cuts transportation costs for WFP if they can buy food in or closer to the country where they are delivering aid.
Here is a story about Purchase for Progress from Sabrina Quezadas and the World Food Programme:
Dionisio Blandon’s crop of maize is growing particularly well this year and he’s confident he can sell it for a better price than normal. Thanks to WFP and its partners, the 76-year old smallholder farmer was finally able to buy good quality seeds and fertilisers.
MANAGUA – For farmers like Blandon, who works a 1.4 hectare piece of land in northern Nicaragua, planting has been increasingly difficult in recent years because they can’t afford the seeds and fertiliser.
But this year it’s different. Blandon is a member of the Union de Ganaderos y Agicultores de Quilali, a farmers’ cooperative which has become involved in the Purchase for Progress project. This enabled him to buy inputs on credit.
“Before, I was never sure whether I would have seeds to plant. Now I can plant and repay my credit after the harvest”, says Blandon who expects to produce 4.5 MT of maize from the high quality seeds he bought through his cooperative.
Increase income
“It’s growing well”, he says, smiling proudly as he takes a break from his work to look at his 1.4 hectares of maize near the village of San Bartolo, 300 km north of the capital, Managua. He and his neighbour, who owns the land, hope to increase their income by 42 percent as result of the benefits brought by P4P.
In Nicaragua, WFP is implementing Purchase for Progress, with funding from the Howard G Buffett Foundation. The aim is to stimulate the production and marketing of maize and beans among smallholder farmers. P4P is looking to help around 4,000 small-holders belonging to farmers’ organizations by enabling them to get seeds and fertilizers on credit and by giving technical assistance.
Overcome bottlenecks
P4P works closely with public institutions in the agriculture sector and with farmers’ organizations to identify difficulties or obstacles in the supply chain: production, post harvest handling, warehousing and sales. The aim is to propose alternatives that allow them to overcome the bottlenecks and challenges, and earn more from their farming.
Seven cooperatives are involved in the project. They receive technical support on farming techniques and post-harvest handling. For the first time ever, farmers are able to access soil testing to help them chose the best type of fertilizer. It will assist farmers’ organizations accessing markets to help them get better prices, as well as in the procedures to sell food commodities to WFP.
photos courtesy WFP/Sabrina Quezadas
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