APRAINORES

La Asociación de Productores Agroindustriales Orgánicos de El Salvador is a group of
small scale farmers who organized after the Peace Agreement in 1992. Their principal
objective was to support the development of the community of Bajo Lempa in the
southern province of San Vicente, primarily through the generation of income through
the production of cashew nuts. From the outset, the farmers involved were focused on
developing agricultural practices that both respected the conservation of the
environment and reduced health risks to farmers and their families by eliminating the
use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. APRAINORES and its farmer members was
thus one of the pioneers in implementing and developing organic cultivation practices
in El Salvador and in 1995 obtained organic certification accredited by BCS Oko
Garantie.

In the late 1990’s APRAINORES established an industrial plant for the processing of
cashew nuts, affording an income opportunity for 25 members of the local community
in San Carlos Bajo Lempa, an area of high unemployment. In early 2005 the association
applied for and obtained Fairtrade certification, which facilitated the sale of an initial
container of high quality organic cashew nut to Equitable, an alternative trading
organization in France.

In the intervening period the association and its members have, despite many
organizational, environmental and trading difficulties along the way, developed
markets for its products in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany. The
membership (as at March 2019) stands at 74 of which 48 are men and 26 women. The
processing plant employs 62 people from the local community (28 men and 34
women) for almost 9 months of the year for post harvest activities.
APRAINORES has participated in a number of projects relating to renewable energy
and now uses solar power for specific elements of its processing operations. In 2014
the association established a child care facility to support the family needs of its
primarily female workforce.

As part of its strategy going forward APRAINORES intends to continue to ensure the
supply of quality cashew nuts to the international marketplace by developing long
term business relations, investing in appropriate environmentally responsible
technology, ensuring transparency in all its organizational processes and procedures.
Looking forward to the future, the challenges are manifold but they can be taken on
with confidence given the achievements obtained since the establishment of
APRAINORES in 1992.