Andes | Trias

Regional office Andes

Regional Director: Paola Mercado
Address: Argentinos 38-82 y Carlos Zambrano – Riobamba – Ecuador

TESTIMONIAL OF CARMEN CHITO

On the day that Carmen Chito became member of Señor Cuy, her life changed dramatically. Being a professional producer of guinea pigs and organic fertilizers, she is today the engine for the welfare of her family. You want to know her story?

Take a look at the Peru development report that the United Nations and the OECD published in October 2016.

Taking control of value chains

In recent years, the urban population in Peru and Ecuador has benefited from economic growth. The effects of this increase in wealth don’t quite extend to the Andes, however. Poverty and malnutrition are still a concern in our intervention zones. Together with our institutional financiers, we support farmers' organisations in developing profitable production chains. Guinea pig breeders are learning to process their own animals, potato farmers are investing in storage facilities and quinoa growers are exploring the export market. We follow up closely the core capacities of all partners.

Challenges

Will family agriculture survive?

The dependence on artificial fertilisers and chemical crop protection puts Ecuadorian farmers' families in a vulnerable position. That is why Trias promotes the niche market of agro-ecology in the Andes.

Does everything have to be twice as difficult for women?

Women in the Andes have a harder time than men to get land, micro-credit and an income of their own. Together with Peruvian women we are fighting this systematic discrimination.

Freeze, leak and sun-dry

Peruvian farmers in the area of Kishuara only have the sale of their potatoes to save their children from hunger. Will you help us in the search for a creative solution?

Agro-ecology counters changeable Andes climate

Climate change has seriously affected the seasons in the Andes. To counter the effects, Trias has deliberately chosen to support agro-ecological vegetable growers.

From sacred crop to superfood

Thanks to its high nutritional value, quinoa had sacred status at the time of the Incas. Today, underprivileged farmers in Ecuador are eyeing lucrative markets, including Europe.

Potatoes with added value in Ecuador

Countless farming families are leading an outcast life on the rugged slopes of the Andes mountains. Are we going to let them continue to flounder?

'Cooperative values getting Ecuador through the COVID-19 crisis'

11-05-2020

The contrast couldn't be any bigger: while health services are crumbling under corona in Guayaquil, farmers' cooperatives in the Andes are working together in solidarity.

Trias trains 33 potato seed producers in the Andes mountains

02-04-2020

Until now, only large potato growers in Ecuador had access to certified potato seeds. Trias ensures small- and medium-scale farmers can also use them.

'My packaging machine opens new market for Conpapa'

27-11-2018

Siebe Moeyaert, student of electromechanics from Gistel, has returned from Ecuador. Together with local potato farmers, he has designed an ingenious packaging machine.