www.proyectoadapta.com

Building resilient climate in the sectors of fine cocoa and honey in Nicaragua

2019FINAL

MEMORY

Main partners............................. 2

Ingemann Centro HumboldtChristian Aid

Our Project................................... 4

The problemOur solution

Keys to our success................ 5

The scienceThe technologyThe people

A unique story.............................9

4 years in 20 figures..............12

Hundreds of lives, one sole project.............................................14

“The project has sown seeds of knowledge”From the year 2016, when we initiated the Proyecto Adapta, we produced timely agroclimatic information and provided the means for it to be delivered to more than 1,100 producers of cocoa and honey. We put at their disposal tools like the System of Agrometeorological Information SAI, capable of good agricultural, business, and technical assistance practice. Thanks to the certification program of Adapta, more than 650 producers of cocoa and honey, today count on organic certification that guarantees their access to the international market.

The project has sown seeds of knowledge. The producers, benefiting from the information, training and tools provided from Adapta, are able today to make smart decisions about climate and interpret the scientific in-formation received. These new capabilities allowed them to reach conclusions that not only guarded their plantations from negative impact, but allowed the identification of opportunities as well.

Our producers are informed and capable, and because of that, they are resilient against climate change. There are no other pro-ducers, in any other location of the world, with the knowledge that the producers at Adapta have.

Lars Saquero MøllerGeneral ManagerIngemann Fine Cocoa

ENTITYBOOSTERS

“Big achievements are born from big

efforts”

“Quality of life against climate change”The international community is on the alert for climate change. To put a brake on its progress is a worldwide priority. But it is also to ensure the adap-tation of the communities in the countries that are most affected by climate change. Nicaragua is one of those, and the agriculture of our country is alre-ady suffering from the worst consequences.

Four years ago, we joined with the company Inge-mann and the organization Center Humboldt with the objective of finding a way to ensure the resi-lience of the small producers of cocoa and honey in Nicaragua. Today we can say that we are still going.

Our efforts and dedication were the key to achie-ve the success of a project based on the most ri-gorous science on climate and phenology and with the necessary investment in technology. Because our objective wasn’t to avoid losses but to continue to improve the quality of life of the producers and their families long-term, we work, wanting to reach the highest number of people in communities of the project so that we can better their knowledge about meteorology, climate change and phenology and cultural work, to continue the best performance of the crops and apiaries, adapting them to the climate changes.

We are already harvesting the fruits of our work. From Christian Aid, we also have been sharing the lessons and experiences of this successful project in all of the programs that we develop in all of the world, from America to Asia and Africa. Because the fight against climate change is worldwide and peo-ple and nature must be among our first goals.

Moisés D. González Moreno Head of Central AmericaChristian Aid

“It is possible to successfully tackle the impacts of climate change”4 years ago Christian Aid, Inngeman and the Hum-boldt Centre joined together starting Proyecto Adapta to work to increase resilience in cacao growing and beekeeping/apiculture.

In this spirit, the Humboldt centre brings the climate related technical and scientific knowledge, comple-mented by the experience of other partners: Inne-geman accompanies the producers and offers agri-cultural assistance.

Christian Aid promotes the diffusion of knowled-ge through communication strategies and replica-ting new experiences all around the world, and the Humboldt Centre has made producers’ climatic ob-servations not just a theory but a reality.

The climate knowledge generated alongside the pheonological study following the cacao and ho-ney plantations consists of an early warning system which warns producers about climate variations and shows the need for agricultural technical help in the production units, helping to increase resilience in the face of the negative effects of climate change.

The experience demonstrates that it is possible to successfully tackle the impacts of climate change, always and when there is specialist climate infor-mation and appropriate agricultural technical in-formation.

From the Humboldt Centre we have received a commitment to keep working hand in hand with the

different produc-tion sectors and to use our technical scientific capacity to sustainable ma-nage our means of production.

Víctor CamposDirector EjecutivoCentro Humboldt

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THE PROBLEM

Nicaragua is one of the countries in the world most affected by climate change where we ob-serve a trend towards the worsening of climatic phenomena. 80% of the population depends on agriculture. It is estimated that the impact of cli-mate change in Nicaragua will reach up until 3% of PIB in 2020 (CEPAL 2010), and the farmers are losing their product due to changes in weather patterns, rise of plagues, draughts, and torrential rains. The products and as a result the quality of life is at risk. The project “Building climatic resi-lience in the fine cocoa and honey sectors in Ni-caragua” began in 2016 spurred by the company Ingemann and the organizations Centro Humbol-dt and Christian Aid to attend to the needs of the producers created by climate change and tend to their quality of life. This project has been made possible thanks to the financing provided by the Interamerican Development Bank and the Nordic Development Bank.

OUR SOLUTION

For 4 years we have provided support to small and medium fine cocoa and honey producers in Nicaragua to allow them to develop a greater resilience to clima-te change. How?

1. With high definition climate information. We have produced climate scenarios at short, medium and long term to predict the impact climate change will have on fine cocoa and honey.

2. We have strengthened the capabilities of the small producers to fend off climate change by trans-ferring techniques that allow a more resilient econo-mic activity.

3. We have developed and proved practical and te-chnological solutions that allow a stronger climatic resilience for those who benefit from the project pro-ving the economic benefit and profitability.

4. We have contributed to better the conditions to access credit to acquire resilient solutions.

mainpartners

clearmethodology

departments in Nicaragua:Las Segovias, Jinotegay Matagalpa

items: fine cocoa and honey

KEYS TOOUR SUCCESS

The unique and differential valueof the Proyecto Adapta

The Proyecto Adapta was created to provide the tools and scientific information needed to make fine

cocoa and honey a future sustainable and profitable solution. The scientific information in combination with their

knowledge allows the producers to make the right decisions for their crops today. During these 4 years, science and experience have settled the bases of a rigorous project in which methodology

and innovation have been key.A highlight of 3 key elements of our

success:

OUR PROJECT: PROYECTO ADAPTA

“Building climatic resilience in the fine cocoa and honey

sectors in Nicaragua”

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1 SCIENCEThe science applied in the Proyecto Adapta allows us to make the right decisions for the present and future of fine cocoa and honey in Nicaragua affected by climate change. Now we know more about…

Germplasm bank:the genetics of the futureClimate change poses a risk not only to the amount of cocoa that we can produce but also the quality. Proyecto Adapta has established a Cocoa Germ-plasm Bank where there is a constant and ongoing study on how are the seeds genetically composed and what can be done to better them. We now know the better performing varieties and the strongest and most producti-ve seeds. At the same time several de-monstrative plots have been created with the producers to evaluate perfor-mance.

To this date we have 5,430 plants with which we have produced 57,006 buds-ticks, that means 92 thousand grafted plants.

Dorwing Alexander Martínez Flores Genetic expert

“High quality vegetative material is produced, grafted into plants and thus we have managed to improve the DNA of Our cocoa beans) genetic of the future”.

Thanks to Proyecto Adapta we know that the priorities when it comes to cocoa should be oriented towards good practi-ce of crop management by the producers (pruning, plantation cleaning, shade management, sustainable management of illness and plagues…). With this in mind, the project has created a successful manual of agroecological manage-ment with recommendations for the day to day life of the producers, and it has promo-ted conservation with organic products and their important organic labelling.

COCOAThe characterization of the behavior of current climate at a national, international and more in detail in the depart-ments of Nueva Segovia, Ma-driz, Matagalpa and Jinotega with the contributions of the producers observing with their meteorological stations have served as references to elaborate projections and climate scenarios associated with fine cacao and honey. We now know how it affects production and what to do to ensure their highest perfor-mance.

CLIMATE

We have evaluated the condi-tion of the honey identifying the main melliferous species, and the elements, natural and anthropic, that affect the honey production. We can highlight the first melliferous inventory, and the transfer of an adapted management of the apiaries that goes beyond the use of chemical products.

HONEYWe now know more about the importance of the quality of the soil and its pedological characteristics.

THE SOIL

We are aware of the scenarios and risks in most of the areas that have currently established coffee and how the effects of climate will give them a better aptitude for cocoa.

EL FUTURODEL CAFÉ

All of this information based on past, present and future behaviors allows us today to make valuable decisions for the production and determi-nation of follow ups in the area of the

Project. Today we know more about the future of cocoa, honey and coffee in the cli-matic difficulties that await, with reliable scenarios on the impact of climate change. Today, we have truly initiated the pathway toward sustai-nable adaptation in the face of climate change.

2 TECHNOLOGYOne of the fundamental pillars of the Proyecto Adapta is the data collected by the known as Ob-server Producers in the 20 meteorological stations and the 14 points of phenological observation of the cocoa and of the honey bee species. Data is taken daily specifically about the temperature, the humidity of the ground and the air, the wind, the rain and the behavior of the sector that they are working on. This observations by the producers allow them to advance on their own knowledge of climate change. The participation, motivation and continuation of these producers was essential all throughout the project, together with the involve-ment of neighbors and families which also ensures the transfer of acquired knowledge.

The data is compared and analyzed in the System of Agrometeorological Information (SIA), a pro-gram created adhoc by the Proyecto Adapta to create an access to information, knowledge, and adaptive solutions for the small producers of co-coa and honey in Nicaragua.

Over these four years, through the SIA, we issued 76 Biweekly Agrometeorological Bulletins which are conclusive for producer decision making. Also, the System keeps registry and control of the Good Practices in the management of the cocoa and of the apiaries by producers to evaluate changes towards the climatic resilience and is capable of producing the right recommendations for the cul-tural work and practices of the producers.

The incorporation of practices and technologies allowed, for example in beekeeping, to better sig-nificantly the quality of the honey, which in turn guarantees the access to a more profitable market.

The SIA also produces Early Alerts when the cli-matic and phenologic thresholds aren’t inside the required parameters to produce cocoa and honey, and when it identifies the appearance of pests and illnesses so that the producer can take proper pre-cautions. Thanks to the Proyecto Adapta, 14 early alerts have been issued for phenomenon like high rainfall, strong streaks of wind, intense rains and possible flooding.

Small producers that adopted new practices and technologies in cocoa and honey to better their performance

1676 people use SIA System

Sending daily data

20 weather stations14 phenological points

76 Agro-Weather bulletins disseminated

Honey Total men Total women

200 164 36

Cocoa Total men Total women

902 631 271

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3 PEOPLEWhen we ask the producers about the key to our success, they don’t have a doubt: “train, train, train”. The Proyecto Adapta has been performing continuous training with the objective to reach the highest number of beneficiaries possible.

We have carried out more than 1.500 technical visits and training about Climatic and Phenological Surveillance for the cocoa and honey bee species getting to train more than 1.100 producers and their families.

With the training, “a new producer” is born, that in the face of the challenge of climate change, is able to interpret the new climate to be dealt with and make the right decisions about the work to undertake for its crops and apiaries. A knowledge that gives them autonomy in their decisions and predicts a more resilient future.

These producers were also protagonists in the Escuelas de Cam-po where they themselves have transmitted their learnings and experience to their family, to other producers and to their neigh-borhood, making an environment of twinning and spreading the findings of the Proyecto Adapta under the premise of “learning by doing”.

With these field schools controlled by the producers, more than 1.100 producers benefited from the project, received specialized and continuous technical training on the management of crops and apiaries in the face of climate change (water resources mana-gement, land management, tree cover …) and also trained on mar-ket techniques where they acquired the knowledge necessary for good management of their farms ensuring a better economic per-formance (Concepts about finance, savings, budget, proper farm planning, administrative bookkeeping ...).

Training on surveillanceand phenology:

COCOA1.500 visits1369 people trained21% women

HONEY420 visits129 people trained33% women

Technical management ofplanting / apiarios and administration of finca / apiarios:

COCOA1369 people trained21% women

HONEY243 people trained24% women

UNA HISTORIA ÚNICA

“Before we had the stationwe responded to whatever cameour way, now, thanks to the information we can be ready in advance.”

Juan Flores had to leave the land that had always belonged to his family. “In the Concordia the clima-te changed” Juan assures us. The water was drying up and with it their income. His family wasn’t well and took the decision to move to Santa Rosa Tapas-kum where they bought a farm. Since then, their life changed.

Juan and his family’s income has been increasing in recent years. In 2016 they obtained 2,421 kg of cocoa per year. Four years later, his income is 21% higher. In addition to the improvement in the mana-gement of his crops, organic certification has meant for Juan an increase of 16% in his earnings.

Juan and his family have been able to improve their home, recover some of their losses incurred during the drought and look at the future with hope.

“The joy of it, is that it’s not just us who have benefited,” recognizes Juan generously.

Since 2009, Juan has been part of the Bocay Multiple Services New Hope Co-operative (COOSEMNEB). “We are a co-operative of 117 producers who initially had coffee as our main crop. Since the farms were in low lying areas (300 metres above sea level) we star-ted to suffer losses due to low crop yields. Many of these coffee areas were slowly substituted by cacao crops until they reached 340 manzanas,” recounts David Torres, COOSEMNEB co-operative technician and also a cacao producer.

COOSEMNEB is one of 6 co-operatives with whom Proyecto Adapta has established alliances. It mana-ges two meteorological stations from which they ca-rry out daily climate monitoring and the necessary phenological observations to understand the climate. Mario Montenegro and Juan Flores are the two pro-ducer observers from the co-operative who record the data in minute detail to feed the SIA: the Agro-meteorological Information System and star product of Proyecto Adapta.

Juan AbrahamFlores Palacios

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“Thanks to the meteorological station we can decide for example, whether to add fertiliser or not, and with the registered data we have chosen the crops that yield the most benefit for our families: 50% cacao, 40% cattle 10% basic grain. With the daily register we now know what we are doing” Juan tells us.

Juan is an example for the producers of his area. At six o’clock in the morning, he and his son Fernando carefully record the daily data at the meteorological station that Proyecto Adapta has installed on his farm and makes the phenological observation that enables them to learn little by little about the way the climate is behaving and its effects on the crops they mana-ge. Moreover, Juan and Fernando, alongside 19 other observer producers from Proyecto Adapta, send their ISIA data, the system that enables the analysis of the data sent by the producers, together with other sour-ces of data and verification in order to send the re-commendations the producers need to take correct decisions and improve the yield of their crops.

It is partly thanks to Juan that 80 members of the Co-operative received agro-climatic information through bulletins and WhatsApp messages that Pro-yecto Adapta sends fortnightly and monthly.“

“Two years ago, in 2017 summer only lasted a mon-th. We were sowing beans in March, but through the bulletin we saw that there was the possibility of rain. The producers’ group asked us for information about the state of the weather. Many didn’t sow. Those who did lost up to 50%,” says Juan who assures us that the information that he receives from the bulle-tins enables him to make better decisions regarding his crops and therefore to get the best income for his family.

“People come here to ask us about the forecasts”, emphasises Juan illustrating that the project is helping many other producers beyond those in the co-operative.

Proyecto Adapta has been able to offer the informa-tion that was really needed, not only providing me-teorological data, but also analyzing its impact on the main crops and sending the necessary recommenda-tions to avoid its consequences “The information that is shared relates to climatic predictions, possible im-pacts and recommendations for crop management,” says David who knows that the information Proyecto Adapta shares is becoming key in the beeper manage-ment of the co-operative’s crops.

But the meteorological information is not the only thing they receive. The co-operative members recei-ve regular visits from the Proyecto Adapta technicians and they attend continuous training workshops in the management of shading cacao plants, managing fungi and other diseases, climate monitoring.

“The technical accompaniment helps to strengthen the knowledge acquired in the workshops, furthermore it validates the practices that are established in the de-monstration areas and the replicas which little by little producers in others areas start following,” says David.

Proyecto Adapta has established alliances with 6 co-operatives to enable the training of producers, support in organic certification and UTZ certification for cacao and honey; sending meteorological informa-tion and buying high quality cacao. The alliances have enabled us to offer long term support to assist the development of the co-operatives and their producers.

It has trained technical teams in climate change, technical management of cacao plantations and apiaries and associated directives in financial admi-nistration, farm administration, planning, agribusiness planning, cost and administration inventories, regis-tration books, UTZ and organic certification. Many of the producers are obtaining official certification for their cacao and honey production, which boosts their income.

Training = + productivity =+ family income = + employment =Safer and healthier communities

ALLIANCES

Juan Flores benefits from one of the six demonstra-tion plots implemented by Proyecto Adapta. In it, he puts into practice the knowledge that he gains from the project and has started to give classes himself to up to 150 producers in the so called Field Schools.

“In the demonstration plots we prune in a different way, establishing where the live barriers and dead barriers are needed in order to improve the quality of the soil, the counting and registration of the es-timated fruit harvest, making mineralized compost, implementing beneficial fungi. The demonstration plots are supported by 12 internal inspectors from the same co-operative who are also familiar with the implementation of the certification process,” says Da-vid who also has a demonstration plot supported by Proyecto Adapta.

For David the biggest achievement of the partner-ship between Proyecto Adapta and the COOSEM-NEB co-operative has been to ensure that all the fine cacao that is produced has a guaranteed market at

a very good price. This above all, takes into account the support that Proyecto Adapta is offering for the UTZ certification for the producers. “The certification helps us to reach better markets and prices (up to double)” states Juan.

Climate change is already a reality in Nicaragua, it is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries regar-ding climate change and already suffering from the consequences.

“Ten years ago you didn’t hear about climate change. But now it’s a problem, not just in Nicaragua, it’s a problem for the whole world. If we carry on like this we will have problems with all the crops including the cattle ranching,” says Juan, “We need to sow cacao because apart from earning money it environment.” “Cacao is worth it, he affirms, without any doubt.”

“Cocoa is worth it”he affirms, without any doubt.

When we began the project we realized that the ma-jority of producers frequently used chemical fertilizers that bring rapid results, but negative results for the earth, water and environment in the medium to long term. There was no custom of using organic fertilizer but there was interest. Thanks to Proyecto Adapta more than 500 cacao and honey producers have been certified organic and the UTZ stamp ensures:

Zero child labour and children in school

Application of BPA in all the plantations = increased production

Care of water sources, woods, fauna, better soil use, improvement in genetically adapted varieties = environmental care

Access to healthcare (pharmacists)

Guaranteed markets for produce

Better prices at the time of sale

Proyecto Adapta - Green

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Number of fine cacao producers trained in climate change adaptation, technical plantation management and farm administration:

1102 (26% women)

Increase in annual sales of small cacao producers and Ingemann beekeepers

UTZ cacao certification:

72(10% women)

Number of small producers with work experience, technology, knowledge and information necessary to develop climate change resilience:

1102 (26% women)

Organic cacao certification:

Organic-OCIA certification honey:

131(3% women)

Naturlan honey certification:

131(3% mujeres)

4 YEARS IN FIGURES

1207 Number of technical visits to cacao producers and beekeepers’ farms

253(10% women)

14 PHENOLOGICAL OBSERVATION POINTS

76 BIWEEKLY AGROMETEOROLOGICAL BULLETINS

14 EARLYALERTS SPREAD THROUGHOUT NICARAGUA

4 YEARS IN FIGURES

8 NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL EVENTS TO SHARE LEARNING

1 AGRO-METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM (SIA)

for the collection and analysis of data as well as comparison with

external sources

1 GERMPLASM BANKTO FIND THE BEST COCOA SEED

6 DEMONSTRATION PLOTSto ensure 100% profitability of our plantations by adapting them to climate change

20METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS

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Hundreds of lives, one sole project

Proyecto Adapta was conceived for and by Nicara-guan producers who have to confront the great cha-llenge of climate change every day. And it is above all thanks to their effort, work and dedication that this project has been a success. We are sharing only some of the hundreds of faces and lives and what they have made possible.

Many thanks to them all

“We have improved the economic aspect. Now the young people can study in better schools, perhaps go to a school or college and maybe go to university”.

Diómedes López López. Cocoa grower and representative of the Jorge Salazar Co-operative.

“I believe in the project because I have seen the results in my own beehives and my income. With better income we will be able to improve living conditions for our families and improve our homes”.

Fernando José Picado. Beekeeper.

“With the meteorological stations we have a clear perspective on which crops may be affected and how. With the empirical and technological knowledge that the project gives us we are going to predict what each year will be like and improve”.

Rubén Perfecto Rugama. Cocoa grower.

“My experience has been managing to learn things about cacao cultivation that previously one couldn’t manage and learning climate information as well”.

Gaspar García. Cocoa grower.

“The good thing about Proyecto Adapta is that they are working with the climate. There are other projects working on production but they have forgotten that if there is no climate there is neither production nor reproduction.”

Uriel Jarquín. Beekeeper.

“Proyecto Adapta gives us experience to cope with climate change,” Víctor Alfredo Rodríguez”.

Víctor Alfredo Rodríguez. Cocoa grower.

“The organic certification will help us to have additional income and to make our family income viable”.

Norvín Celedón de Jesús. Beekeeper.

“It’s not only about producing honey, it’s about protecting bees. There are people who don’t look after these litt-le animals but here they are protected. There are people who only produce honey to sell it and don’t worry about protecting them. We do”.

María Francisca Blandón y Juan José Quintanilla. Beekeepers.

“If we know what is happening we can warn earlier and do things better”.

Cruz Martín Matamoros. Beekeeper.

Once more, our biggest thanks goes to all the producers that have made this project possible with their effort and daily work. To the te-chnicians who have worked with care, determination and great profes-sionalism to make the most of Proyecto Adapta. And above all to the Inter-American Bank of Development and the Nordic Development Fund for believing in us and backing a project that has definitely chan-ged the lives of thousands of people and will continue transforming them in Nicaragua and beyond.

“I have a 12 year old son, he is stud-ying in Dario, the honey harvest is how I can send my son to school”.

Urania Vázquez. Beekeeper.

“I have learnt that cocoa is a good means for survival and it has greatly motivated me to cultivate it and to carry on growing, sowing more cacao”.

Harvín Rivera. Cocoa grower.

“To be able to change the envi-ronment, first we have to change ourselves”.

Pablo Montenegro. Cocoa grower and representative of the Jorge Salazar

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Project code:Proyecto ATN/ME-15095-NI;

ATN/NV-15096- NI

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