- MOCCA supports more than 1,000 coffee producers in the departments of Ocotepeque, Copán, and Lempira to help them eliminate the barriers that prevent them from becoming more productive and profitable.
- MOCCA is a 7-year initiative funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) through its Food for Progress Program, which seeks to improve agricultural productivity and expand trade in agricultural products. The MOCCA project is being executed by a consortium led by TechnoServe.
Coffee production is of utmost importance in Central American countries, as it represents one of the main agricultural export crops, not to mention an important source of employment for rural communities. According to data provided by PROMECAFE, it is estimated that approximately 5 million people depend directly on coffee production in the region.
Honduras is the largest coffee exporter in Central America; coffee growing in this country involves around 120 thousand farmers and contributes to the creation of more than 1 million jobs each year.
As in other countries, one of the problems faced by small Honduran coffee producers is the lack of opportunities to access higher value markets that would enable them to earn more money to turn their farms into profitable businesses.
“Coffee has always been our main source of income, however, in the past we had difficulties marketing the crop because of lack of knowledge on how to find buyers who would pay a fair price for our product”
Lilian Gonzales | Coffee producer
Ocotepeque, Honduras
Lilian Gonzales (31) belongs to a family of coffee growers in Ocotepeque, a department located in western Honduras, approximately 350 kilometers from the country’s capital. In addition to being a coffee producer, Lilian is the mother of three children and also the manager of a cooperative called COCAJUNCAL, an organization that supports coffee farmers in her community.
In 2020, COCAJUNCAL joined the Program “Maximizing Opportunities in Coffee and Cocoa in the Americas” (MOCCA), that works in western Honduras in partnership with RGC Coffee and Café Ventura, with the support of Keurig Dr Pepper, providing coffee producers with technical assistance, access to quality planting material, and integration into higher value markets, under an inclusive marketing model that promotes the empowerment of women to sell coffee.
“This year our income increased by 15%! Our inclusion into the MOCCA program has benefited us, since now we have access to a better market to sell our certified coffee and are paid better prices”, says Lilian.
As of September 2022, MOCCA supports more than 1,000 coffee producers in the departments of Ocotepeque, Copán, and Lempira to help them eliminate the barriers that prevent them from becoming more productive and profitable.
MOCCA’s training curriculum is validated by agricultural experts and consists of different learning modules on good coffee production practices.
“The yields of my coffee farm increased by 80%! The good practices learned to manage soil pH have allowed me to develop a more effective fertilization plan to maintain a healthy and productive plantation”.
Lilian Gonzales | Coffee producer
Ocotepeque, Honduras
MOCCA in Honduras
In Honduras, MOCCA entered into partnerships with buyers and other organizations, through which it will train more than 8,000 coffee producers (40% women), integrating them into higher value markets, and providing them with technical assistance, research, access to quality genetic material, and the promotion of catalytic financing models.
