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PRODUCERS
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During our April 2009 meetings with CEPRODEL, they
presented the following summary of the impact of our
portfolio for 2008. This portfolio is administered by
3 of CEPRODEL's offices: Leon, El Sauce and Nagarote.
Loans made in 2008
|
Sector
|
Number
|
Amount
|
| |
Men
|
Women
|
Total
|
Men
|
Women
|
Total
|
| Agriculture |
37
|
36
|
75
|
52,960
|
21,993
|
74,953
|
| Livestock |
618
|
257
|
875
|
968,699
|
363,810
|
1,332,509
|
| Commercial |
401
|
2,182
|
2,583
|
214,517
|
781,695
|
996,213
|
| Housing |
57
|
114
|
171
|
43,099
|
68,352
|
111,451
|
| Other |
200
|
261
|
461
|
154,278
|
184,961
|
339,239
|
| Total |
1,313
|
2,852
|
4,165
|
1,433,544
|
1,420,810
|
2,854,365
|
Jobs Created for
All Loans Greater Than 2,000
| |
Family
Members
|
Non
Family Members
|
Total
|
| |
Permanent
|
Temporary
|
Permanent
|
Temporary
|
|
| Men |
500
|
136
|
292
|
119
|
1,068
|
| Women |
258
|
102
|
112
|
27
|
478
|
| Total |
758
|
238
|
425
|
140
|
1,546
|
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Martha & Manuel with CEPRODEL/León Loan Official, Gerardo
Meléndez (center)
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Martha Elena Rivera Carillo
and her husband, Manuel Gonzales are one of the first farm
families to particiapte in the Sustainable Rural Development
Program. They farm 17 manzanas (about 30 acres) in Amatitan.
They raise primarily vegetables and irrigate using water from
an 80 year old well. They also have 9 head of cattle, 2 for
milk and 7 for meat.
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|
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One of our rural
borrowers is José Luis Martinez Medina. José Luis is
currently repaying his third SOSTENICA loan, worth $2,192. During
the past year, he has used his line of credit to plant trees,
dig a new well, build a pump, install irrigation, create watering
tanks for his livestock and plant improved grasses for hay.
José Luis has benefitted from our technical assistance program
ever since he received his very first loan in 2001. He describes
his successes using two measures. First, between 2001 and 2007
his net worth (mostly livestock) almost doubled -- growing from
$33,077 to $63,000. At the same time he has supported two daughters
through university degree programs. Nicaraguans know how rarely
people from rural backgrounds succeed in having their offspring
graduate from college. Here in the US we recognize what an accomplishment
it is to see net worth grow while supporting two University
students. Congratulations to the entire Martinez Medina family!
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| When José Ramón
Silva and his wife Julia first met SOSTENICA representatives,
they and their three children lived on a small farm in the Nicaraguan
town of El Jicarito (the little Jicaro). They grew corn and
beans and had a total net worth of less than $5,000. The CEPRODEL/
SOSTENICA staff showed them how, with credit and training, they
could diversify their farm, improve the land, and increase their
income. They received their first SOSTENICA rural development
loan early in 2002 -- a loan of $1,062 to improve 1.7 acres
of pasture area and for the purchase of two pregnant dairy cows.
They were among the first in their village to experiment with
a method of livestock farming known as silvopastoral agriculture.
In addition to grasses, they planted their pastures with leguminous
trees throughout the fields. |
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The trees fix nitrogen in the soil, provide shade for the
livestock, protect animals from Nicaragua's hot tropical sun,
and drop edible bean pods rich in protein for the cows to
munch. In 2004 José and Julia took out a second loan, this
time for $980 for the purchase of two more pregnant cows.
Last year, having repaid both of their earlier loans, they
borrowed $1,500 for reforestation and for the construction
of a pond to retain water through the dry season. In the past
five years, José and Julia's herd has grown from 4 to 18 cows.
Their estimated net worth has grown to $12,527 (from $4,902)
and their two daughters have begun university studies while
their son has become a farm machinery mechanic. Neither José
nor Julia ever made it to high school.
Nicaragua's economy is agricultural. 82%
of all Nicaraguan exports came from agriculture. The most
extreme poverty is in the rural sector, causing many people
to migrate to cities and to other countries. José and Julia
are typical of the 938 Nicaraguan families currently served
by SOSTENICA's sustainable rural development program - making
it work.
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Juana De Los Angeles Romero Jarquin
Juana operates a small sewing
shop behind her home in the Rió Chiquito in León. When she
began borrowing from SosteNica, her sales and cash flow were
very small. She qualified for a $100 micro-loan, equivalent
to her shops net worth. Today, Juana employs 3 of her neighbors
to help produce, among other things, school uniforms for the
local children. Over the past two years she has been able
to purchase four sewing machines and has seen her business'
total net worth grow to more than $3,000. Juana's most recent
loan from SosteNica was for $700.
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