Building climate resilience in the fine cocoa and honey sectors in Nicaragua
The PROADAPT facility supports Danish-Nicaraguan company INGEMANN building climate resilience in cocoa and honey production in Nicaragua
Central America experiences weather changes that affect major agricultural crops. In addition, the Coffee rust, or roya as it is known in Spanish, has been devastating coffee farmers throughout Central America for the past few years. Coffee is currently among the largest export commodity in Nicaragua, but according to a recent study suitable areas for growing coffee in Nicaragua will shrink by between 30% and 50% by the year 2050. Cocoa has therefore a high potential for replacing coffee in the exposed areas.
The PROADAPT facility focuses in Nicaragua on agriculture where it will support small and medium-sized Nicaraguan fine cocoa and honey producers in developing greater resilience to climate change. The Nicaraguan-Danish company INGEMANN has been selected to receive technical cooperation and client support to build climate resilience. The company works with more than 450 cocoa farmers growing high-quality organic cocoa. Moreover, INGEMANN is currently the biggest producer-exporter of organic honey in Central America with bee-hives all over the Pacific Region of Nicaragua.
PROADAPT will support INGEMANN with access to: (i) information about climate change and its impact on the supply chain; (ii) technological solutions to climate change; and (iii) credit to purchase those solutions. The PROADAPT support will facilitate the company’s actions to promote greater diversification of production in order to address the impacts of climate change.
PROADAPT is a joint financed facility by the Nordic Development Fund and the Multilateral Investment Fund, which is a member of the Inter-American Development Bank Group. The general objective of the facility is to support business models that enhance climate resilience in specific economic sectors.
INGEMANN is a family-owned company of Danish origin established in Nicaragua in 2007. It is an output of the “Business 2 Business” program of DANIDA, the Danish government’s development agency. The INGEMANN project develops agreements with small producers that guarantee purchases at better-than-market prices, while providing technical assistance for small producers. INGEMANN has established itself as an anchor company in the fine cocoa and honey sectors. Internationally, INGEMANN is becoming a point of reference for its innovative approach to genetic selection, agricultural techniques, and post-harvest management.