The FPSC “Organised agricultural producers strengthen the social, economic and productive fabric and their living conditions in the Guineamayo Micro basin (Cajamarca – Perú)” Project, funded by Obra Social La Caixa, started last July 2015 motivated by the limited ability of small producers to be organised, their disarticulation in the market and their limited knowledge in efficient and profitable commercial management, as well as the lack of public policies that boost agricultural development. That’s why they find themselves limited to a subsistence agriculture, without technical assistance and productive management alternatives, increasing the food insecurity and poverty problems.
The purpose of this project is to improve the performance and give added value to the agricultural production and its competitive insertion in the market.
To get so, during the first six months of the project execution, work has been performed to reach women’s access to technical and funding resources in social, productive and economic management, favouring their participation in the productive and commercialisation process decision-making. With that goal, there has been a promotion of participation of farmers in actions aimed at instilling social and economic rights and productive initiatives such as for example the organisation of the “I Festival of Gastronomic Promotion of bean, avocado and Guinea Pig”. There has also been favoured their integration in multisectoral committees to guarantee their access to public spaces, assuming positions of responsibility, and thus favouring a more proactive involvement in the communities and their organisations.
From another part, there has been an improvement in the productive management of beans and avocado cultivation and Guinea Pig’s breeding, in order to competitively insert them in the market. Dialogue and the recovery of previously acquired knowledge, together with the development of proper technical and productive abilities, allow the use of good agricultural practices by means of an agroecological management.
Moreover, those farmers involved in the process have learned how to efficiently manage resources (water, ground, plants) diminishing the erosional processes via the construction of terraces with materials from the area such as stones (rocks); producing alder trees forest species to preserve the grounds and environment; and using the live barriers technique. Also, work has been done to get the optimization and enlargement of irrigation systems that will strengthen the productive base on their plots.
A last factor has been the improvement of the familiar productive systems economic management, developing organisational, leadership, gender equity and microenterprises management abilities in order to strengthen the association in the formation of microenterprises; strengthening the formation and acquired experience to allow a better action in the productive and commercial management. These make possible to properly manage the profitable microenterprises initiatives; developing the classification, production costs and commercialisation of beans, avocadoes and Guinea pigs capacities; increasing the competitive advantages of the cultivations in order to access the different markets and get competitive advantages in comparison to individual commercialisation.