DAY 10, NOVEMBER 6, 2007

Today we are very happy to welcome to the Path Juan Moreno, Coordinator of the Program Paths to Learning, from Procasur in Santiago, and Jean Paul Lacoste, Coordinator of the Program Development Finances and Economic Security , from the Santiago office of the Ford Foundation.

Today’s theme was micro leasing. The National Ecumenical Association for Development (ANED), a non-profit NGO based in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, presented their organization to us in the hotel’s centre for events. Micro leasing (small scale Financial Leasing) permits the incorporation of technology in the productive processes of small producers.  It is a financial option that supports and strengthens other types of credit.

Following ANED’s presentation, we traveled to the field to meet and dialogue with users of the Micro leasing product.  We drove about 100 kilometers north of Santa Cruz in high heat and humidity.  The landscape is tropical, with exuberant vegetation, and large cultivated fields with sugar cane, soya, and a variety of other crops.

In the locality of Puesto Fernandez, Provincia de Obispo San Esteban, we met Carlos Nogales Pillco, a producer of soya, sorghum and wheat. He has purchased a fumigator and a seeding machine through micro leasing. We talked with him and his wife about their experience with ANED and the impact the machinery has had on their production.

Afterwards we drove to the community of Chané, where we visited  Manuel Chambi and his son Abner.  They are producers of soya, potatoes, wheat, beans and corn for the national market and for export.  They purchased a Fumigator two and a half years ago through micro leasing.  The group had many questions and Don Manuel and Abner responded in detail.

On the way back to Santa Cruz we stopped in the town of Montero to stretch our legs and have a delicious ice cream, made locally with fruit from the region. Back at the hotel we had dinner and rested in preparation for an early departure to Cochabamba tomorrow.