El presente proyecto recoge el trabajo realizado con participación de un grupo de productores/as usuarios/as de créditos y aspirantes a los mismos, ubicados en las diferentes cooperativas afiliadas a CONFRAS. Dicho proyecto está basado en el sentir y necesidad de 200 productores/as, de recuperar la capacidad de ser sujetos/as de créditos, con credibilidad, responsabilidad y por ende desarrollar las capacidades productivas y empresariales, así como la capacitación y formación en el uso de los créditos y la capitalización de las capacidades humanas. El proyecto tiene el propósito de fortalecer el desarrollo de capacidades personales, económicas y empresariales de productores/as y se ejecutará con 200 productores/as a cooperativas de CONFRAS, en dos años. CONFRAS, con la finalidad de crear una nueva modalidad de apoyo económico a su membresía, está desarrollando un programa de asistencia crediticia (PROCAMPO), el que es administrado por la Cooperativa de Ahorro y Crédito – La Fuente de R.L. Esta organización crediticia, pretende en el mediano plazo convertirse en una financiera que sea representativa en el sector agropecuario cooperativista. Para hacer más efectivo el trabajo propuesto, se prioriza la ejecución del proyecto en dos grandes componentes: - Formación y capacitación empresarial de productores/as agropecuarias. - Apoyo a la producción agropecuaria y empresarial de productores. Objetivo General: Fortalecer el desarrollo de capacidades integrales, económicas y empresariales de productores-as y cooperativas agropecuarias Objetivos Específicos: 1. Fortalecer el acceso a créditos del sector cooperativista agropecuario. 2. Desarrollar capacidades humanas de la población cooperativista sobre las empresas agropecuarias y el fomento del buen uso de los créditos agropecuarios.

Participation of the target group The project’s formulation was based on a problem analysis conducted in 2006 by cooperative members, women’s committees and leaders. They identified problems related to farm production, trade and organisation. During 2008, monitoring workshops took place and proposals were drafted with a gender focus as part of the strategy: “50% or more resources for women”. These gender-focused workshops resulted in a gender equity strategy in FECORA’s cooperatives.

El Salvador has a stagnated economy, with the GDP growing minor to the 2%, insufficient to allow the improvement of the majority of the population, because the country has inequalities in the income distribution. Confras, has decided to give an impulse to the approach of Alimentary Sovereignty as an alternative solution to the agricultural and farming problematic, that it has fundamentally been the Government abandonment to the agricultural and farming sector and especially to the cooperative movement, the lack of economic (credit) resources, the absence of agricultural and farming technical assistance. These aspects previously mentioned have given spaces to the massive emigration, mainly to the U.S., causing a high dependence of family remittances and the rupture of Salvadoran homes. In the reflection of the land (agrarian) policy, it was identified the necessity of a law to promote the sector that includes aspects like: financing, technical assistance, gender equity, marketing and training. In El Salvador, the 51% of the total population is constituted by women. The rate of illiteracy presents important differences between men and women: 15% and 21% respectively. The 14% of rural women are occupied in the agricultural sector and fishing. The women participate actively in the production of beans and corn, doing an essential role in the post harvest. Project Objective: “Improve the productive, organizational and negotiation conditions of the associates to the 20 cooperatives affiliated to the 2 federations”. Specific Objectives: - Give impulse to the agricultural and farming diversification with the focus of sustainability. - Strengthen the focus of gender equity in the federations - Improve the organizational level of the producers, so that their capacities of lobbying in order that their proposals be considered in the national plan for rural development. Results: - The diversification of the agricultural and farming production in 20 cooperatives is reinforced. - 20 groups of Women are consolidated and succeed in increasing the participation in the direction bodies of CONFRAS in a 25% - Countrywomen and countrymen, and their respective cooperatives and communities, are able to elaborate and negotiate with the public political class - The two federations increase the negotiation power and influence on topics of alimentary sovereignty and the public policies. Activities: - Sensitize and promotion of the gender equity - Entrepreneurial and technical training and related topics to food security - Experiences interchanges - Planning of the Diversified Agricultural and Farming Production - Lobbying and negotiation of the Law proposals that is favorable for the sector. The Monitoring and Evaluation will be carried out from a base line. Confras has a participative monitoring that includes the technicians, leaders and direct project participants; they organized at least two annual workshops, where it is analyzed the project execution and the advances are measured, allowing to make adjustments in the carry-out of the project if it is necessary. The sustainability of the project will be guaranteed with the sale of the production obtained in the first three years of the project execution. Confras in similar projects has obtained that the producers succeed in reaching the economical sustainability (e.g. “Agricultural and Farming Development in the Lempa River”). The woman committees will be attended through the National Committee of Cooperative Women of CONFRAS and the proposals of public policies elaborated will be promoted by the area of union development of the confederation. Este año, Confras ha participado en la elaboración y presentación de la ley “DESARROLLO SUSTENTABLE” en la Asamblea Legislativa.