Descubre Program to Provide Non-Repayable Funds to Producers for Linking with Exporting Companies
• The project will select 27 agricultural supplier companies.
San Jose, July 20, 2021. The DESCUBRE program continues its mission to bring prosperity and economic development to rural areas of the country through agricultural and fishing activities. On this occasion, it has launched a project that will provide seed capital and technical assistance to improve productivity and compliance with standards for small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises to become suppliers for other exporting companies.
For this project, three “tractor” companies were selected; that is, established companies with export experience, to develop linkages with producers of abacá, orange sweet potato, and yuca by-products. In total, 27 producing companies will be selected to receive funds of up to $18,000 to become suppliers for the “tractor” firms.
“DESCUBRE is a public-private alliance coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the MAG, and PROCOMER that aims to promote processes of development, transformation, scalability, innovation, and technical assistance for agricultural and agro-industrial companies with export potential. This supplier program initiative leads us down the path of development by allowing us to identify market opportunities for agricultural and agro-industrial products to diversify Costa Rica’s exportable offerings, thus promoting the transfer of knowledge and linkages in the production processes of the sector,” said the Minister of Foreign Trade and President of the Board of Directors of PROCOMER, Andrés Valenciano.
“Innovation is much more than good ideas and technology. Innovation is the process through which individuals use products or processes, new or existing, for the first time. In agriculture, it is present throughout the entire value chain, from agricultural production to the management of inputs and resources for market access. Expanding innovations in agriculture and agro-industry is increasingly crucial if the goal is to outline an inclusive and dynamic economy,” added the Vice Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Laura Pacheco.
Pedro Beirute, General Manager of PROCOMER, added that this supplier development program joins other initiatives that have been brewing since DESCUBRE and aim to make the agricultural and fishing sector more competitive. Such is the case of the traceability project for beef to enter the European Union market, as well as the mariculture promotion project in coastal areas.
Requirements for Participation
Agricultural companies wishing to join this non-repayable funds and productivity improvement project must meet the following requirements:
– Be a micro, small, or medium-sized enterprise in the agricultural and agro-industrial sector, exporters, or with export potential. This also applies to producers or groups of producers.
– Have a legal or physical ID and have fewer than 100 fixed workers.
– Be registered and up to date as an independent worker or employer with the CCSS.
– Have at least three hectares dedicated or that can be dedicated to the cultivation of abacá; or one hectare of yuca or orange sweet potato on owned or formally leased land.
– Be registered as an Agricultural Producer with the MAG or have the operating permits from the Ministry of Health, or any other necessary for the operation and development of the project.
– Have the Single Diagnosis (DU) from PROCOMER or be willing to undergo it.
Companies and/or agricultural producers interested in becoming suppliers to “tractor” companies can participate from today until August 12. More information can be found on the website, or you can email [email protected]. The winners will be announced on September 3.
About DESCUBRE
DESCUBRE is an inter-institutional program coordinated by COMEX, MAG, and PROCOMER, in collaboration with CINDE and the Development Banking System, aiming to revalue agriculture and fishing as sustainable activities towards an inclusive and dynamic economy. It also seeks to promote investment attraction in rural and coastal areas of the country.
It proposes a collaborative strategy between the public and private sectors to create a new exportable offer, diversify export markets, and innovate in all links of the value chain, through improved institutional coordination to remove barriers to the establishment and development of these activities.
For 2021, DESCUBRE has planned 10 value chains: abacá, mariculture, beef, hemp, turmeric, papaya, fine and aromatic cocoa, orange sweet potato, yuca by-products, and insects.
