- The Partnership between MOCCA and Jardin Azuayo will allow channeling financial services demanded by 2 thousand producers trained in production and marketing. Cocoa growers will receive up to US$25,000 in loans from the MOCCA program for farm renovation and rehabilitation.
- A total of USD 8 million will be earmarked to loans for cocoa farmers who participate in the MOCCA Program so that they may invest in the maintenance, rehabilitation and renovation of their cocoa farms in Azuay, Cañar, Guayas, El Oro and Los Ríos.
Cocoa is the crop with the most hectares planted in Ecuador. The value chain involves 180,000 families, many of whom face the challenge of having to renovate and rehabilitate their farms with scarce resources. However, applying for a loan is not always an appealing option because of the requirements and the time it takes for approval. This adds to the financial pressure and risk undertaken by the cocoa family who accepts a medium to long-term payment commitment for each harvest.
To alleviate this problem, the Program “Maximizing Opportunities in Coffee and Cocoa in the Americas” (MOCCA), in partnership with the cooperative “Jardin Azuayo”, aim to provide families with access to flexible and timely financing under differentiated and appropriate conditions, training, technical assistance and marketing. These conditions also guarantee the success of their harvests and sales, and therefore a return on their investment. Some 2,000 producers in the provinces of Azuay, Cañar, Guayas, El Oro and Los Ríos will receive productive financing for US$8 million, as a result of the partnership.
Training makes them eligible for a loan
The partnership with the MOCCA program (together with partner cocoa producer organizations) and Jardin Azuayo will allow channeling a significant amount for financial services to rehabilitate and renovate the farms from the last quarter of 2020 into the 2021 harvest season campaign. Producers participating in the program have been trained in production and marketing by the program in Ecuador, and this makes them eligible for a loan from the Jardin Azuayo cooperative.
Credit access is offered to producers both individually and as members of cooperatives or associations, as well as at company and organizational levels of the EPS promoted by the aforementioned producers. MOCCA participants will be able to access loans up to USD 25,000 with their signatures, and above that amount with mortgage guarantees, after evaluating the cash flow of the farm and family.
Benefits for organizations and companies
Among other benefits, the Jardin Azuayo cooperative will offer producers competitive interest rates, below the market average for customers with and without savings and payment terms of up to 7 years. Under similar conditions, applicant companies or organizations are required to have been in operation for 2 years. For those interested, Jardín Azuayo’s services include access to the Cooperative Education Program for members of grassroot organizations and young people linked to the organizations.
The range of financial products created for the program includes short, medium and long-term loans for producers in Guayaquil, Naranjal, Milagro, Bucay, Simón Bolívar, Balzar (Guayas); Machala, Pasaje, El Guabo, Santa Rosa (El Oro) and Babahoyo (Los Ríos), and Azuay and Cañar. Learn more about the services offered by MOCCA, Rikolto in Latin America and Technoserve this October 15 through Zoom and Facebook live. The MOCCA program is an initiative funded by the Food for Progress program of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). It is led by TechnoServe (TNS), Lutheran World Relief (LWR), and implemented by Rikolto in Ecuador.
