The United Nations Organization for Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will provide $1.6 million in non-reimbursable co-op funds to Costa Rica in the next two years.

On Tuesday, May 29th Mr. Jose Graziano da Silva, general director of FAO, made the announcement following a meeting in Rome, Italy with President Laura Chinchilla Miranda, Minister of Agriculture Gloria Abraham, and the Chancellor of the Republic, Enrique Castillo.

The Minister of Agriculture said these funds will be used to implement programs that promote the agricultural sector of Costa Rica.

“We are very grateful to FAO for this cooperation, we will make the most out of it and implement projects in areas such as climate change mitigation and adaptation in agriculture, innovation and technology development, and the strengthening of small producer chains with development of marketing tools.”

Meanwhile, as part of her visit to FAO, our President was a featured speaker at the very first meeting between the organization and representatives of co-ops and agricultural organizations from around the world.

President Chinchilla made reference to the cooperative experience. She stated that the co-op movement has contributed to social and productive development of the Costa Rica, with one in three persons of the economically active population involved in co-ops, with many jobs produced and cash generation equivalent to 4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

President also noted that, for small and medium producers of the co-op movement, participation is crucial to the modernization and technological development of production systems, as over 10% of agricultural GDP originates from these co-ops.

“In the case of coffee, co-op production represents a remarkable success story in promoting equity and overcoming poverty. This type of organization has been the vehicle through which more than thirty thousand small grain producers have found a route to prosperity. Our coffee co-ops gain access to foreign markets that, individually, our farmers would never have reached.”

President Chinchilla also said that in Costa Rica, as in the rest of the world, co-ops allow farmers to face challenges such as social inequality, climate change and economic growth through solidarity and collective participation.

Source: Presidential Office of Costa Rica