Achievements

Chuquisaca is one of the poorest regions of Bolivia. In order to improve the living conditions of the population, SOCODEVI supported the diversification of economic and production activities amongst farm families, favouring an increase in their incomes. For SOCODEVI, and members of the AGROCENTRAL network of cooperatives with whom the project was carried out, the challenge was an important one: identify and produce more profitable crops using climate-intelligent methods while being mindful of ecosystems and natural resource sustainability.

In order to improve the social and economic conditions of 3,000 rural Colombian families, SOCODEVI worked to consolidate the competitiveness of their agricultural, forestry and pastoral (agroforestry & pastoral) activities. To achieve this, SOCODEVI concentrated on the improvement of many important factors: access to local, regional and international markets, the entrepreneurial environment, access to quality technical support, integration of women in the formal economy and the development of sustainable agroforestry pastoral systems.

FEDECOVERA, a federation of cooperatives in Guatemala, wanted to diversify its economic activities in order to strengthen the economic development of its member cooperatives. SOCODEVI, with the support of forestry cooperatives in Quebec, assisted in the creation and development of market channels for forestry cardamom within this organization in the Verapaces region.

With this project, SOCODEVI aims to tangibly and sustainably improve the living conditions of 1,500 rural families through the diversification of and increase in production of coffee, pine resin and litchi.

With this program we worked to increase farmer incomes through the establishment of an agricultural intensification and diversification process. Three sectors were targeted: rice production, rice seeds and vegetable production.

In order to guarantee the sustainability of natural resources in developing countries, it is essential to involve rural communities in forestry management to guarantee the conservation of biodiversity while also diversifying their economic activities through the creation of new jobs. Supported by the expertise provided by some forestry cooperatives in Quebec, SOCODEVI contributed to strengthening agroforestry cooperative enterprises in Honduras. The focus was on increasing the added value of forestry products with the ultimate goal of improving the living conditions of families through rational and sustainable uses of forestry resources.

The “Feere Diyara” (marketing has been good) is an initiative led by the international agricultural alliance (CECI, UPA DI and SOCODEVI) aiming to reduce the poverty rate amongst vegetable and grain farmers in the Malian regions of Koulikoro, Mopti, Segou and Sikasso. We focused our actions on accessing improved marketing condition, quality products and services, as well as equipped and adapted infrastructure for marketing activities.

Through this project we have contributed to the improvement of the productivity and competitiveness of farming operations and rural processing. We worked with farmers for a better mastery of and access to irrigation techniques, intensification and added value, and the creation of interprofessional structures for dairy, onion, shallot, fish and livestock networks.

Developing countries face many challenges, an important one being a lack in suitable low-cost housing. This is a major obstacle in the improvement of the quality of life for their populations. In Senegal, since 2011, SOCODEVI has been building the capacity of the cooperative social housing movement in order to construct housing for member families and provide populations with decent and sustainable living conditions.

In 2008, SOCODEVI initiated a support program for small dairy producing families in the provinces of Lviv and Dnipropetrovsk in Ukraine. With our local partners, the agricultural extension services in both target regions, we concentrated on improving the efficiency of dairy production at the farm level, developing individual and associative entrepreneurship and commercial optimization for products.

In Vietnam we improved the living conditions of thousands of agricultural producers by supporting the creation and consolidation of inclusive, sustainable and profitable cooperative enterprises. At the core of our approach is the development of 5 model cooperatives focused on market needs in different value chains.

In Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria, our approach has been oriented towards building the capacity of peasant organizations and cooperatives with the objective of having a better pooling of the cacao and coffee on offer, as well as improving farmer incomes. The increase in farm production and the improvement and diversification of revenue sources for families are integral components in the strategies deployed.