IIRR has been involved in Latin
America since 1965 through National Rural Reconstruction Movements
in Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras. IIRR operated a Latin America Regional Center in Quito, Ecuador from 1993 until 2005 and from then on has built a strong foundation of programs considered cutting-edge development practice in Ecuador and in the Region, and built a strong reputation among its partners and donors.
Program
Results
IIRR’s
major contributions in the Latin America region include:
- Training
over 5,000 farmers, community leaders, development practitioners,
and government officials from Latin America in sustainable
agriculture, farmer research, leadership and management of
community-based organizations.
- Establishing
more than 20 Chakra Kamaks or Farmer-Field Schools, and 35
farmer-research groups throughout the Andean Highland zone
and Amazon area of Ecuador where farmers conduct numerous
research projects and share their expertise in agro-ecological
practices.
- Developed
a micro-credit enterprise project in the Riobamba province
of Ecuador, which resulted in a viable credit cooperative
with an initial credit level of $365K which has since grown
to over $1.8 million, with a 98% repayment rate and more than
8000 beneficiaries.
- Published
numerous popular information resources, in Spanish and English,
on farmer led extension, participatory action research, and
participatory monitoring and evaluation.
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