“I have been working with CISA for six years and I am very happy because I receive a good price for my coffee. Additionally CISA provides pre-harvesting financing“
Arnulfo Chavarría González is a 47-year-old coffee farmer working with CISA Exportadora, an exporting company in Nicaragua.
Arnulfo first started growing coffee in 1994 when he bought his first “manzana” of land (one manzana is equivalent to approximately 1.7 acres). He progressively acquired more land and now owns 64 manzanas out of which 35 are dedicated to coffee growing.
Arnulfo is part of the CISA Exportadora 4C Unit. Within his 4C Unit, Arnulfo has been receiving constant support to improve sustainability practices and the quality of his crop.
“The 4C project has benefited me greatly. I have received technical assistance to improve the quality of my production as well as advice and guidance on wet processing systems. During the 2009-2010 harvest, we were able to treat the wastewater proceeding from the coffee beans fermentation and wet processing. The wastewater was stored in wastewater tanks developed with technical support from CISA. In previous harvests, the wastewater was discharged directly into the stream that passes through the farm. This was greatly polluting the stream,” explains Arnulfo.
“Another benefit is the training in pesticide management issues for me and the farm workers. I have also received training and direct support on record keeping. This is helping me to calculate what are my total costs to produce one quintal of coffee,” concludes Arnulfo.
