PR-L1068 : Improving opportunities for organic sugarcane farmers in Paraguay

The Opportunities for the Majority window approved a Loan of up to US$3 million to the Cooperativa de Producción Agroindustrial Manduvirá Limitada (¿Manduvirá¿, ¿CM,¿ or ¿the Cooperative¿), a producer and credit cooperative in Paraguay focused mainly on the production and marketing of organic cane sugar. The Cooperative has approximately 1,700 members, the vast majority of whom are at the base of the socioeconomic pyramid. It is located in Arroyos y Esteros District (67 km from Asunción), a rural area with approximately 22,000 inhabitants. Of these, 6,000 live in the town and 16,000 in small villages in the surrounding area. CM's primary mission is to support its members in the production and marketing of their crops and to offer a number of other support services, such as financial and technical assistance, agricultural training, and medical and education programs. CM has more than 15 years of experience with organic agriculture, and exports certified organic and Fairtrade sugar to more than 17 countries (mostly in Europe but also to the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and South Korea). The main objective of this project is to enhance the competitiveness and boost the revenues of CM and its members through support for the construction and start-up of the Cooperative¿s own organic sugar-processing plant. Increasing consumption of organic products in recent years has led to growth in demand for CM's highly valued organic sugar. However, the Cooperative has been unable to fully meet this demand as it operates from a rented plant with limited capacity. This has not only prevented it from tapping into existing demand, but member competitiveness has also been affected by high transport costs resulting from the considerable distance between the plant and crop areas. The new plant, which will be situated close to the crop areas, is expected to solve the problems that have curtailed profits, hindered growth, and prevented the Cooperative from meeting existing levels of demand. In addition to its direct impact on Cooperative members, the project is also expected to benefit more than 800 families that participate in harvesting, post-harvesting, and logistics activities related to the new plant.