Indigenous community with mechanized agricultural production
Puerto Barra, Alto Paraná
The Union of Production Guilds (UGP, for its acronym in Spanish), through its Directorate of Support for Small Producers, implements the productive integration project based on the idea that peaceful coexistence is possible among small, medium and large producers. This year, with the support from FIDEI, a project for 250 producers of grains (corn, soybean, cassava) in the departments of San Pedro, Canindeyú, Caazapá and Alto Parana, began. As part of this project, the soybean crop is made in the Aché indigenous community of Puerto Barra, in the district of Naranjal, Alto Parana.
The Aché community, composed of 39 families, produces soy and corn, and integrates other activities such as pig production, milk by-products (cheese), yerba mate and, for family consumption: beans, groundnuts, cassava and sweet potatoes. This way, they have diversified economic initiatives and a community management.
The engineer Mr. Hector Cristaldo recognizes the progress in a work process that the UGP started seven years ago with the Community of Puerto Barra. “The lesson is that we must respect their pace of work. We cannot impose anything. They have a great enthusiasm for achieving success. We believe that this community is an example for other communities, and is beginning to multiply itself. They started with very precarious working tools and today, they have machines, mobility, and know how to use the technology for producing”, he says.
Unión de Gremios de Producción (UGP)
IMPLEMENTER
Start Date
May 2015
Impact
39 families of the Aché community
Investment
Fidei: USD 195,700
Counterpart: USD 91,854
Departments
San Pedro, Canindeyú and Caazapá
Districts
Guayaivi, Liberación, Curuguaty y Naranjal