Food producer network 2020 grantee

Asociacion de Agricultores del Area Noroeste, Inc.

Access to heavy machinery during harvest time is often one of the biggest challenges for farmers in rural communities. That was the initial motivation for founding the Asociación de Agricultores del Área Noroeste, a non-profit institution incorporated in 2012 by a group of farmers from the northwest region of the island. Its mission is to offer services that meet the needs of the area’s farmers in the most effective and efficient way, thereby contributing to an increase in food production at the lowest possible cost.

In 2014, the group began a heavy agricultural machinery rental program as its main service and source of financing. By implementing conservation practices advised by the local Agricultural Extension Service, as well as the National Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, the Association’s work has a multiplying effect that helps create jobs in rural areas and contributes to an increase in agricultural production.

With WCK’s support, the Association plans to acquire a second plow to strengthen its agricultural machinery program and quickly increase its reach to more farmers in the area. This equipment will generate income for the Association that will in turn provide financing for additional services for its members. The Association’s main goal is the revitalization of an abandoned school in the northwest town of Moca, in order to turn it into an added value production center for the benefit of the area's farmers.