Guatemala City, by Yuliza Muñoz -AGN- Through the National Fund for the Reactivation and Modernization of Agricultural Activity -Fonagro- of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food -MAGA-, the Government of Guatemala has implemented 28 projects for the development of the agricultural sector.
The President of Guatemala visited the town of Carmelita, San Andrés, Petén, where he supervised the progress of the project for the Strengthening of Wood Craft Production of the Comprehensive Marketing Cooperative Carmelita R. L.
The President stated, “In three and a half years in the reactivation of agriculture, we invested more than USD 5.2 million in 28 productive projects. These projects have been implemented through the joint work of MAGA with associations and cooperatives that seek development for each member of its communities.”
Also, Fonagro granted over USD 700,000 in non-reimbursable funds for this project.
Development Projects
The President mentioned the efforts to strengthen the agricultural and livestock sector. These include the project in Santa Catalina La Tinta, Alta Verapaz.
Fonagro approved the Enhancing Dry Fermented Cacao Fruit Production and Processing project. The project responds to the department’s high production of the fruit. The President announced that the income of the entrepreneurs has improved.
In Santa Catarina La Tinta, more than one million Quetzals have been invested in cacao fruit benefits. The producer is earning a lot more profit, not by selling the fruit as a slime but by selling the dried and fermented fruit. That way, they can earn ten times more than they were making per pound.
Another project that began with Fonagro’s approval is Strengthening Cardamom Production in Cobán, Alta Verapaz, and the Program for the Prevention of the Spread of the Tomato Rough Brown Fruit Virus and the potato production in San Marcos and Quetzaltenango.
Fonagro
To meet the demands of the Reactivation and Modernization of the Agricultural Activity Agenda, the Fonagro trust fund was created by Governmental Agreement 133-94.
This project works as a financial resource of MAGA that aims to assist various organizations in implementing agricultural, livestock, artisanal, hydrobiological, productive infrastructure, training, and technical assistance development projects. All of this is to improve the overall country’s community growth skills.
