18/08: Community investing story
Here is the story of one borrower I met in Nicaragua:
Martinez Medino is a cattle rancher who needs more help on his farm, but his children have all moved to the U.S. or to Nicaragua’s capital city of Managua. His daughter earned a degree from a Nicaraguan university, but couldn’t find work. Determined to stay in the city rather than return to her father’s farm, she is now working in a maquiladora (a factory that is tarriff-free under NAFTA) for $3 a day. This reflects a sweeping trend among youth across Nicaragua and the developing world.
Medino also faces abusive pricing from the truck drivers who take his milk to the city and sell it (Medino has no vehicle of his own). Efforts to establish coops that would give ranchers more bargaining power have been undermined by buyers’ manipulative tactics. Sometimes the buyers approach farmers individually and offer them better deals if they leave their coop, and once the coop is significantly weakened they raise prices for everyone. Or sometimes the buyers are deliberately late for pickup and refuse to pay for spoiled goods. Government protection is needed to preserve a level playing field for farmers and raise the impact of microfinance.
In the meantime, Medino has used CEPRODEL credit and technical assistance to build a trough and irrigate his field, grow hardy grass that can keep his cattle well-fed through the dry season, and build a shelter that protects his cattle from the elements. All of these investments are part of a business plan worked out with CPRODEL that guides Medino's credit allocations. Next he plans to use credit to pay for more labor during the peak season.
Martinez Medino is a cattle rancher who needs more help on his farm, but his children have all moved to the U.S. or to Nicaragua’s capital city of Managua. His daughter earned a degree from a Nicaraguan university, but couldn’t find work. Determined to stay in the city rather than return to her father’s farm, she is now working in a maquiladora (a factory that is tarriff-free under NAFTA) for $3 a day. This reflects a sweeping trend among youth across Nicaragua and the developing world.
Medino also faces abusive pricing from the truck drivers who take his milk to the city and sell it (Medino has no vehicle of his own). Efforts to establish coops that would give ranchers more bargaining power have been undermined by buyers’ manipulative tactics. Sometimes the buyers approach farmers individually and offer them better deals if they leave their coop, and once the coop is significantly weakened they raise prices for everyone. Or sometimes the buyers are deliberately late for pickup and refuse to pay for spoiled goods. Government protection is needed to preserve a level playing field for farmers and raise the impact of microfinance.
In the meantime, Medino has used CEPRODEL credit and technical assistance to build a trough and irrigate his field, grow hardy grass that can keep his cattle well-fed through the dry season, and build a shelter that protects his cattle from the elements. All of these investments are part of a business plan worked out with CPRODEL that guides Medino's credit allocations. Next he plans to use credit to pay for more labor during the peak season.
