In the Latin America and Caribbean region, there are about 15 million family farms, 35% of which rely solely on agricultural activities for their livelihood. Through the “Linking Small Farmers to High-Value Agriculture Markets” agenda, MIF has focused its efforts in providing support to smallholder farmers with the belief that agriculture and food are promising industries that could present a solid business opportunity and a stable income-generating activity for smallholder farmers when they are sustainably linked to local, regional or global markets.

Access to modern technology remains an important barrier for farmers in our countries. Techno-Links, a project by the Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) and supported by the MIF and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFTAD), organized a matching grant competition to identify business models that use technology to help improve productivity and output of small producers in Peru and Nicaragua. 

By Katalin Solymosi, SCF - SMU

Versión en español 

The coffee leaf rust epidemic in Central America is all over the regional and international media. The MIF reported in detail about the resulting economic challenges for producers earlier in 2013. International conferences and high-level meetings are being held to come up with a coordinated response to la roya, as the plague is called in Spanish. Governments, development organizations, banks and coffee traders are rushing to draft roya renovation projects and commit large amounts of renovation financing. 

English version 

Versión en español 

Roya or coffee leaf rust is a fungus that is causing turmoil wherever it spreads. The effects of the outbreak are just beginning: coffee production loss in Central America will most likely increase while roya keeps spreading to countries as diverse as Mexico and Peru. In the former, about 60,000 hectares were affected mostly in Chiapas, Mexico’s main coffee-producing state. In the latter, social unrest led to arrests with about 25% of the coffee production expected to be lost.