by Peter Rhebergen

February 2006

Export is of vital importance for the mango producers of the APROMALPI cooperative in Peru. Without Fairtrade they would have never been able to export and many of them would have gone bankrupt a long time ago. In October 2005 they received from the hands of the Peruvian Minister of Agriculture the premium for the most successful agrarian enterprise in the region.

It is with great pride that Manuel Urbina (72) shows his mangoes. “There are at least 8 varieties, but this mango – “Kent” – is the queen of mangoes. We export them to the Netherlands and to Luxemburg. This has become possible through “Comercio Justo” (Fairtrade). He and his son Fernando (40) own 4 hectares of land of which the larger part (3 hectares) is planted with mango trees. On the remaining part of the farm they produce cocoa, cassava, papaya and various citric fruits. Together with 117 other families they constitute APROMALPI (Asociación de Productores de Mango del Alto Piura). Owning 4 hectares of land represents that they are one of the “big” producers among the many very small ones. Together the members own 396 hectares in the Alto Piura valley in the Northern part of Peru. They are not the only inhabitants of this arid and dry area. Approximately 10.000 small farmers try to survive here, producing predominantly mangoes, bananas and citric fruits.

Agony

In 1996 the mango-association APROMALPI came forth from a group of 40 producers in Chulucanas (a district with 3000 farmers in the Alto Piura valley).  They wanted to sell their products directly on the national market without being dependent of intermediary traders that fix the price for the mangoes unilaterally.  “These merchants resold our mangoes to exporters in Lima and they paid us whatever they wanted, but had no choice.  What we received was 8 till 10 times less then that what they got”.  But the initiative of the mango-producers became an agony: because of the fluctuating market price and the high costs of packing and transport, the yield was so low, that the mangoes (again) had to be sold with a considerable loss.  Besides this, the producers lacked knowledge on business management and export and consequently many farmers went bankrupt.  At the end of the 1999-2000 campaign, the (by then) chairman of the cooperative proposed the members to wind up the organization.  Only 22 “socios” set through and finally, (with support of international organizations) succeeded for the first time in 2002 to export 8 containers (160 tons of mangoes) to France.  The quality of the mangoes was bad however, because of the many rains during the harvest, the high degree of ripening and a series other factors and again losses were made.  The helm had to be put over: machines had to be renewed, production methods changed and the knowledge on export needed to improve.

Change

The harvest year 2003/2004 brought the necessary change.  Especially when APROMALPI in 2003 obtained the FLO Fairtrade certification and the Dutch organization AgroFair made it possible to export the organic Fairtrade-mangoes to the Netherlands and Luxembourg.  (AgroFair is an export-cooperative of small Fairtrade-producers who own 50% of the shares. Of the remaining shares the larger part is owned by the Dutch ngo Solidaridad.  Therefore the farmers have a say in the management and the use of the financial means).  It was possible to invest in production means and materials for export through a loan at a relatively low interest from the Rabobank Netherlands. And the first Fairtrade-premium (US$ 4,036.40) APROMALPI used to buy a motor taxi, a computer and a mist sprayer and it also was possible to give a small loan to members that had come into trouble because of the long drought.

“Without Fairtrade-certification and the support of AgroFair we would not have made it and we would have gone bankrupt as well”, according to Manuel Urbina. His son Fernando adds: “Because of Fairtrade and the possibility to export we have grown tremendously: three years ago our cooperative exported 8 containers of Kent mangoes and this year we will reach 25 containers. This is also due to the growth of the number of APROMALPI members as there is more production capacity now. But it is not only that as we have been able to improve the production and the quality of our mangoes since together with Pidecafé our cooperative gives advise, information and capacity building to members.” Pidecafé is a (regional) agricultural-technical ngo that supports APROMALPI. Their agronomists not only inform about pests and disease control, disinfection of fruit, soil fertilisation and improvement of production techniques; they also advise on business management, packing of mangoes, commercialisation. In 2004 APROMALPI could install an electric pump through which 100 hectares of land are being irrigated.This was possible through an alliance with Pidecafé and several other organisations (sponsors). The 34 families concerned no longer have to use expensive fuel for irrigation and their cost has decreased by half. APROMALPI financed 20% of this project out of Fairtrade income.

Dissatisfaction over politics.

But the cooperative’s president Pedro Checa Farfán (66) is by far not satisfied yet. “The whole area of the Alto Piura valley has huge problems with drought. It needs irrigation of 22.000 hectares of land for 10.000 small producers.  For years now we are trying to get money from the national government for this and nothing happens. The cost of such a project is relatively limited: about US$ 380,000.- for the agricultural and social development of the whole area. Through  the “Proyecto Hidroenergético Alto Piura” the soil can be irrigated and in times of drought, a natural phenomenon like El Niño will cause less damage as there is less soil erosion.”  Carlos Nima (57) mentions the growing dissatisfaction among the producers “More and more farmers want to undertake tougher action as we are being kept on a leash by Lima for years now. We organised a protest march again to the Congress in Lima in September (2005) and more than 1.000 farmers from this area called upon the government to keep their promises. But it does not matter which government is in place. It is not an economic problem, but rather a political one. We are not interesting for politicians.”

Carlos Nima owns 2 hectares of mango trees. He also has problems with water supply for his land. As a delegate from the general assembly of APROMALPI he carefully follows the development of the “Proyecto Hidroenergético”.

Manuel Urbina and his son Fernando could no longer wait for the decision making in Lima. Full of pride Manual shows his new well. “This well is 45 meters deep. Only at this depth the groundwater is reached. The well cost us over  US$ 3.500,-. Of course I could not afford this and we had to go to the bank. If I would not have had a guaranteed income through Fairtrade I would have had to pay 20% to 30% interest for this loan, but now it is only 8%. At last I am able to irrigate my land and do I no longer depend on rainfall”.

New warehouse with refrigerator rooms

The APROMALPI “socios” in Chulucanas do not only have problems with water supply. The climate also implies that during the harvest mangoes ripen very quickly. Too fast ripening causes problems for exportation as the fruit becomes too soft and rots faster. “Until now 15% of production is not suitable for export” says Luiz Lopèz (agronomist of Pidecafé). “ This goes to Lima for processing into marmalade or juice. For export high quality has to be supplied and especially the organic mangoes producers have to meet high standards. For quality improvement it is very important to have refrigerated storage capacity”.

Miguel Alvarado Torres (65) is very happy that it was possible to start the construction of a new warehouse with refrigerator rooms by the end of  2005. For four years he has been the Secretary of APROMALPI and he has been part of many negotiations with the regional authorities on the plot, the power and water supply and the construction permits for the building and the infrastructure for supply to the warehouse. “The transition from conventional to organic mangoes was very demanding for many producers. Especially disease and pest control without chemical inputs, such as pesticides is demanding since we are talking new production techniques here and these imply costs. After one or two years production costs decrease and in the long run producing organic mangoes is even cheaper, but it needs an investment first. If we are unable to export the mangoes because of the low quality, this money is simply wasted. The old warehouse did not have enough capacity nor facilities. We are getting advise from Pidecafé for building the new warehouse and in cooperation with Agrofair new refrigerator rooms are installed and there will be equipment to enable us to work more efficiently. This new warehouse will make it possible to keep the mangoes for a longer time”. His sister Margarita Alvarado Torres notices APROMALPI’s growth in the store (bodega) she runs. The demand for packing crates for mangoes increases. Export goes up. “Ever since APROMALPI is certified for Fairtrade the situation improved for all of us. Our income increased and we no longer depend on intermediary traders in Lima. We get a fixed basic price for the mangoes and the Fairtrade premium allows the cooperative to do a lot for the members. The improvement of water supply was very important to us and through the Fairtrade income we could also improve a part of our house.  I only have 1 hectare for the production of mangoes and in fact, this is not enough to live on and to pay for the education of our two children, but by running the store we supplement the income. But for other small producers the Fairtrade premium is also important for their families as it allows them to pay for the books and the school uniform. And there is a health fund for medicines. Every family of “socios” can yearly apply for up to US$ 50.- from this fund.

Most successful business

Pedro Checo Farfán summarizes. “Because of Fairtrade there has been a turnabout in the lives of many, many producers and APROMALPI can contribute to the socio-economic development of this whole area. Without Fairtrade many of us would not have made it. The importance for us is that we have a fixed price for our mangoes with an annual purchase volume guarantee. With the Fairtrade premium many farmers are able to increase their farm yields, they get technical assistance and we can improve a lot in infrastructure and water supply. Because of the growing demand for organic mangoes in foreign countries our export increases and I am happy that our members subscribe to the importance of ecologically sound production. Because of Fairtrade we have not only grown as APROMALPI, but we have also become more responsible in dealing with our environment and nature. All our members support this wholeheartedly.

It is not for a reason that last October on the “day of the farmer 2005”  APROMALPI was elected to be “the region’s most successful”. Together with 5 other awarded Peruvian organizations Pedro Checo received the honourable certificate from the hands of the Peruvian Minister of Agriculture.