“CDAIS does not give us money, but it opens spaces for cacao producers, associations and industry to work together” says Sergio Segovia, president of the ASOPROCCAN association. Actors in the cocoa chain of Atlántida on the north coast are, thanks to CDAIS, now achieving quality standards and promoting entrepreneurship. This was the vision of this innovation partnership, to focus actions on fulfilling their dream of strengthening their organizations and applying good agricultural practices in cocoa cultivation.
“CDAIS no nos da dinero, pero abre espacios para tener contactos importantes para el desarrollo de los productores de las asociaciones y del rubro”, dice Segovia que también se propone gestionar proyectos para mujeres, un museo de chocolate, una tienda de productos de cacao y cursos de catación para cacao súper fino. Y comoBernarda Moya, una productora de cacao en Balfate, La Ceiba explica, “Las relaciones con CDAIS nos ayuda a ser creativos y beneficiarnos todos.”
Over the past few decades, some countries in Asia have been more successful than others in addressing poverty and malnutrition. The key question is what policies, strategies, legislation and institutional arrangements have led to a transformed agricultural sector, effectively contributing to poverty alleviation and addressing malnutrition. The great majority of national policymakers within and outside the Asia-Pacific region are keen to understand the causes of agricultural development and transformation in successful countries in Asia.
Individual farmers often receive low prices for their harvest, and pineapple producers in Bangladesh are no exception. To help them, CDAIS facilitated a series of meetings and coaching. Starting with a capacity needs assessment workshop in April 2017, a coaching plan was developed to meet capacity gaps identified by the partnership of pineapple producers, complete with an action plan. The partnership also participated in a ‘marketplace’ event in Dhaka, a regional policy dialogue and two phases of capacity-building training. The result?