Colombia

Our impact

Context

In Colombia, Socodevi has been supporting for more than a decade the professionalization of rural economic organizations, the upgrading of the cocoa value chain, and the strengthening of agricultural and financial services, with a consistent focus on gender equality and the inclusion of Indigenous peoples. Our interventions cover the entire value chain—from inputs and production to post-harvest quality and marketing—and are built on strong synergies with public and private donors, local governments, and sector stakeholders.

Through flagship initiatives such as PROCOMPITE (2014–2020) and AGROEMPRENDE CACAO (2019–2025), Socodevi has helped build a rural development ecosystem geared toward profitability, sustainability, and the creation of shared wealth, including in territories affected by social instability and the presence of armed groups.

Objectives and expected results

  • Gender equality and the economic empowerment of rural women.
  • Empowerment of Indigenous peoples and their inclusion in territorial economic dynamics.
  • Sustainable economic growth across the cocoa value chain, including access to differentiated markets.
  • Increase the climate resilience of smallholder cocoa producers and their families—especially women and Indigenous peoples—through agroforestry and adapted practices.
  • Strengthen governance and performance of member-based organizations (PerformCoop approach) and support the emergence of viable regional enterprises.

Areas of activity

  • Agriculture: cocoa
  • Agroforestry
  • Governance and organizational performance (PerformCoop)
  • Value chains and marketing (niche markets)
  • Post-harvest, quality, and traceability
  • Training and women’s entrepreneurship

Results and impacts

Higher household income and access to niche markets for fine cocoa

  • Through AGROEMPRENDE CACAO, nearly 5,000 families have increased their income, benefitting approximately 20,000 people. The program boosted the average profitability of organizations (about 7% over the last two years), and 17% of marketed volumes now come from niche markets (fine flavor and aroma cocoa).

Economic empowerment of rural women

  • Also through AGROEMPRENDE, around 2,500 women strengthened their economic autonomy through targeted training and the adoption of 40 gender equality action plans within organizations

Climate resilience and productivity

  • The establishment and renovation of 3,300 ha of cocoa plantations under agroforestry systems helped restore strategic ecosystems while improving productivity and quality. Post-harvest investments (more than 800 on-farm units and approximately 20 community hubs) increased quality consistency and traceability.

Professionalization of the associative movement

  • 43 organizations and 3 regional co-operatives (Workakao, Río Grande, Kausai Sacha) were supported to structure management, consolidate business units, and adopt governance and member-service practices through the PerformCoop approach. The program also supported business-unit management and commercial development, including the operation of around twenty collection points.

Diversification and territorial competitiveness

  • PROCOMPITE supported 3,000 families and 25 associative enterprises to improve the competitiveness of rural initiatives (governance, business planning, and market–producer linkages), laying the foundation that AGROEMPRENDE later leveraged to accelerate the cocoa sector.

Testimonials

“We improved the quality of our product thanks to the training. The Socodevi project provides us with inputs, including seedlings adapted to our plots. Together, we keep moving forward!”

  • Paula Yarce
    Cocoa producer (Colombia)

“In our organization, women are fully supported and active in decision-making: our committees and board are gender-balanced, 50% women / 50% men. This allows us to hold key roles in business units — buying point, nursery, and soon a processing center — where women’s participation is essential. Without the organization, we wouldn’t have these plans or this vision of a prosperous future.”

  • Ledy Osorio
    Legal representative of ASOPROLAN (Santander)

“As a purchasing agent for the CacaoCodazzi union, the organization ensured me a steady income these past months and access to agricultural inputs. Through collective sales, we were able to keep placing our production; the co-operative was always there for us — we were never alone, even in difficult times.”

  • Ananin Flores Carrillo
    Agrosolidaria (Cesar)

Projects in Colombia

AGROEMPRENDE CACAO

 AGROEMPRENDE CACAO is a project led by Socodevi that aims to improve the living conditions of cocoa-producing families who are members of associative enterprises in various regions of Colombia. Through a strategy focused on strengthening the cocoa value chain, the project promotes the economic empowerment of producers from 5,000 family co-operatives. Activities focus on strengthening […]
  • Funded by:
    Global Affairs Canada
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Partners

Donors and co-funders

  • Global Affairs Canada
  • REPSOL
  • ECOPETROL
  • GRAN TIERRA ENERGY
  • MANSAROVAR
  • PRODECO
  • DRUMMOND
  • Gobernación del Cesar
  • GIZ
  • Colombian Presidential Cooperation Agency (APC)
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ cross-border program

Contact

Colombia Office
Carrera 17, No 93A-06, oficina 306, Bogotá
(+571) 795-3360

Other countries of intervention

Peru

In Peru, Socodevi works in territories where rural families face multiple challenges: economic vulnerability, limited access to markets and services, persistent gender inequalities, climate and environmental pressures, and—in some regions—socio-economic impacts linked to extractive activities. In this context, our interventions aim to strengthen the capacity of families and collective organizations to build sustainable and competitive […]

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Honduras

Since 2003, Socodevi has been supporting the strengthening of the co-operative movement, sustainable forest management, and inclusive economic development in Honduras. Over time, interventions have evolved toward agroforestry, financial inclusion, and the economic empowerment of women and youth, particularly in the coffee and honey value chains. The projects implemented have improved the governance and performance […]

  • Funded by:
    Global Affairs Canada
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Mozambique

In Mozambique, particularly in the rural provinces of Maputo and Gaza, a large share of households depend on family farming. Communities face major challenges: recurrent droughts, multidimensional poverty, limited access to markets and services, remoteness of administrative services, and high risks related to land rights. Rural women face restrictive social norms and limited access to […]

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