World Grain - June 2009 - 55

FEATURE

Food security project
begins in Guatemala
A
$7.5 million rural development project in northern
Guatemala has been launched that is designed to boost
corn (maize) production and food security in the Ixcán,
Quiche region. As part of the project, a large complex which
includes 40,000 tonnes of maize storage, a feed mill and a
maize processing facility will be constructed.
"We have received donations from the Inter American Development Bank (IDB), from the government of Guatemala
and in the near future from the government of Japan," Project
Manager Marco Fava said. "We have started with teaching the
farmers how to get good results by applying good agricultural
procedures. We are developing with local entities - the Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology (ICTA) and the
Project for the Innovation of Agriculture (REDSICTA) - a
seed especially designed for that area."
Fava said the remote region has been plagued by a lack of
modern agri-industrial infrastructure and sub-standard farming methods, resulting in comparatively low maize yields
compared to other parts of the country.
"800,000 farms located on 655,500 hectares of land produce a total of 1.16 million tonnes per year, which results in a
deficit of 1.13 million tonnes per year, resulting in the importing of products to meet demand," said Fava, owner of Fava
Consultores Ltda., Santiago, Chile.
Fava said the project, called the Corn Agro-feeding Chain
System, will provide "an organized, productive infrastructure
to improve business competitiveness of products involved in
the corn agro-feeding chain in order to meet demand for animal feed and cereal industry consumption and meals for human consumption."
In addition, the project will provide organization and specialization techniques to approximately 1,500 small maize
producers in the region and is expected to reduce extreme
poverty by at least 10% in the 40 communities where it will be
implemented. Fava said local enterprises of agricultural input
distribution and agricultural mechanization have been established, a program of technology transfer is being implemented, and a local certified seed company has been established.
A maize field in the Quiche region of Guatemala. Photo courtesy
of Marco Fava.
56

by Arvin Donley

Goal is to boost corn production and
add storage and processing facilities
in the Ixcán, Quiche region
The plan also calls for the construction of a maize storage
and processing complex that includes:
 a maize receiving, drying and storage plant with storage
capacity of 40,000 tonnes, and receiving and drying capacity
of 200 tph;
 a feed mill with pellet production capacity of 5 tph;
 a maize mill with a processing capacity of 120 tonnes
per 24 hours.
"We do not have a date for the main plant construction, because that will depend on when we obtain the financing," Fava
said. "Meanwhile, we have started with the construction of
a small receiving and storage plant for the corn seed we are
developing."
First-year maize production goals for the project include:
 8,900 tonnes for animal feed, with an increase of 8% in
annual production;
 4,413 tonnes for hominy grits, with an increase of 8% in
annual production;
 3,281 tonnes for grits for the beer industry, with an increase of 8% in annual production; and
 4,406 tonnes for other meals, with an increase of 8% in
annual production.
The project was developed by the Local Agency for Economic Development-Ixcán and its general manager Heber Cabrera.
Other agencies involved include: ICTA; REDSICTA; National Peace Fund (FONAPAZ); and the IDB.
"We need more financial support and we are searching for
more financial support," said Fava, noting that the goal is to
have the project implemented within a 10-year period.
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June 2009 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com
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World Grain - June 2009

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