The Multilateral Investment Fund (FOMIN, in its Spanish acronym) and Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) announce the winners of the second Call for Proposals of the agricultural technology grant program Techno-links in Peru and Nicaragua.
Techno-Links is a competitive challenge for funding aimed at expanding the commercial distribution of agricultural technologies that enhance the productivity of small farmers. Techno-links is also supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
The call elicited responses from 115 organizations, of which 30 were pre-selected to develop a 12-month business plan with the support of the Techno-Links. The evaluation committee took into consideration several criteria, including the viability of the ideas presented, the plans’ relation to the market and the private sector, and the potential impact to promote the use of technology. The evaluation committee consisted of representatives of international organizations, environmental organizations, and academic institutions, among others.
Selected proposals will receive 50 percent of the total cost of their business plan to a maximum of $60,000. Contracts with the organizations will be signed on Oct. 24 in Lima, Peru, and Oct. 29 in Managua, Nicaragua.
The following 14 winners are listed in alphabetical order, together with the titles of their business plans:
Nicaragua:
- Central American Commodities Trading S.A. - Integrating Small Chia Producers into the Export Markets through Transfer of Technology.
- Chiles de Nicaragua, S. A. – Access of Drip Irrigation Technology for Small Chili Tabasco Producers.
- Cooperativa Apícola de Servicios Múltiples "La Dulce Miel" R.L. – Agro-industrial Equipment and Training to Produce Propolis and Pollen for Export.
- iDEal Tecnologias – Low Pressure Micro-Irrigation System for Small Horticulture.
- Ingemann Nicaragua S.A –Increased Beekeeping Productivity through the Replacement of Queen Bees.
- Mercon Origen/Cisa Exportadora – Technology Package and Financing to Improve the Productivity of Coffee Yields.
- Servicios Profesionales Múltiples, S.A, (DÁVILA&ASOCIADOS, S.A.) - Increased Productivity of Certified Organic Coffee Plantations through the Provision of Certified Organic Inputs.
Peru:
- Asociación de Productores Agroecológicos BIOCAFE Pichanaki – Three-Phase Power Generator Plant for Wet-Mill Coffee.
- Asociación de Productores Ecológicos – APROECO – Technology for the Processes of Threshing, Sorting, Selection, Toasting and Packaging of Coffee.
- CAC Perene – Use of Renewable Energy by Producing Coffee Husk Briquettes.
- Centro de Investigación, Educación y Desarrollo CIED – Quality Improvement of Quinoa through the Establishment of Business Technology Centers.
- Centro Ecuménico de Promoción y Acción Social-CEDEPAS Norte –Collection Centers for the Technological Improvement and Introduction of New Varieties of Amaranth.
- Cooperativa Agraria Cafetalera 'La Florida' – Increased Productivity with Specialty Coffee Certification and Designation of Origin “Coffee with Scent of a Woman” by Applying High Systematic Pruning Technology.
- Millenium Contratistas y Asesores – Technology Services for Small Producers to Improve the Production and Packaging System of Olives.
For further information or any inquiries please contact us at technolinks@meda.org.