Agroforestry with more climate-resistant species

UCA SOPPEXCCA (Unión de Cooperativas Agropecuarias Soppexcca), located in the department of Jinotega in Northern Nicaragua, was originally formed as limited company in 1997 by some coffee importers and a group of 68 farmers, to overcome the bankrupt of a former cooperative. In 2004 the organization changed its legal form to become a cooperative union. Today SOPPEXCCA (Sociedad de pequeños productores exportadores y compradores de café) is formed by 18 cooperatives grouping approx 650 small-holder farmers living in villages near Jinotega and Matagalpa.
Besides the technical and commercial role, SOPPEXCCA is very active in the promotion of gender equality, through the enhancement of the role in the organization and the provision of dedicated services (training, access to credit, specific programs on women’s health and legal rights). Furthermore, the organization runs school programs to educate young people in agro-ecology and prepare them for careers in organic coffee production.

Climate change is already impacting negatively on the coffee productions. To counter the threats represented by pests and lower productivity, SOPPEXCCA is starting a large scale long-term project to renovate coffee plants with more climate-resistant species and to plant new trees to increase biodiversity. Besides the improvement in coffee quality and productivity, the program aims at achieving significant results both in terms of environmental impacts (bio-diversity, soil conservation, mitigation of extreme events) as well as community development and economic sustainability.