For decades, the Central Huallaga Valley in Peru was a center of the Andean drug trade. A lack of sufficient economic opportunities drove local farmers to grow coca: the primary input for cocaine production. In 1997, Cooperativa Agraria Cacaotera ACOPAGRO was founded to provide a pathway to an alternative livelihood through cocoa farming. Starting with just 27 members, the association has grown through a focus on fair trade and organic cocoa, driving transformation for local farmers and the entire community.
For agri-SMEs, fairtrade and organic certifications carry price premiums and open up new markets, both of which drive up benefits for farmers. However, managing these certifications can be complex at the farm level. ACOPAGRO has an agronomic extension team, which supports new farmer-members in converting their farms to organic practices. For existing farmer-members, the association provides ongoing training to maintain yields and cocoa quality; this is paired with the cooperative’s internal credit facility to support farmer-member purchases of organic farm inputs like fertilizer or seedlings. The association rewards these farmers for their high-quality cocoa in the form of price premiums on top of the additional returns earned through organic and fair trade production.
Over the past two decades, CSAF members have provided ACOPAGRO with working capital to make purchases from its members and fulfill export commitments for higher-priced, certified cocoa. This financing supports the business’s growth by allowing it to increase sales volumes and reach more farmers. Starting with a small loan from Rabo Rural Fund in 2005, the business has grown, leveraging $80M+ in financing from six CSAF members over twenty years. The cooperative has been a reliable borrower during that time, renewing annually with some lenders for as many as 15 years in a row. In addition, CSAF members have supported the borrower with technical assistance, including a recent project by responsAbility, boosting the use of specialty cocoa varieties among cooperative members and increasing their productivity.
Backed by twenty years of partnership with CSAF members, ACOPAGRO has grown to be the largest organic cocoa exporter in Peru, creating pathways to legal, sustainable income for rural families. From 27 farmers in 1997 to over 2,000 today, ACOPAGRO has leveraged the support of CSAF lenders to increase opportunity for thousands of smallholders while driving community-wide change in the Central Huallaga Valley.