Prodecoop

Joining forces to export coffee

Prodecoop helps smallholders to produce coffee and bring it to market. The professionally led cooperative federation groups 38 coffee-producing cooperatives from the region surrounding Estelí and Palacagüina in Nicaragua. Since 1993 the organisation has given approximately 2,700 farming families the opportunity to sell their coffee around the world.

The organisation is 100% fair trade. What’s more, half of the coffee is certified organic. Each year the organisation exports 70,000 69-kilo sacks of fair-trade coffee.

Fair-trade coffee accelerates development in Nicaragua

Prodecoop collects the fair-trade coffee from its member cooperatives, prepares it for export and then sells it.

In addition to this, it arranges training courses and technical assistance for its members. Prodecoop also provides loans and legal advice to members. Additional investments are made possible by the fair trade premium, such as:

projects to improve the quality of the coffee;
support for coffee growers who make the switch to organic production methods both in terms of knowledge and tools;
educational grants for the children of coffee producers;
projects on income diversification and food security;
access to medical care and prevention of cervical cancer;
capacity building of women and children on various topics.

Only by organising ourselves through Prodecoop can we tackle the challenges we currently face. It’s a great help to us as farmers, to know with certainty beforehand how much coffee we will be able to sell and for what price.
José Alfredo Zeledón, Chairman of Cooperativa, one of the member cooperatives