Frontlines Online Edition
Maternal & Child Health
May/June 2014

Photo Story: Like Credit for Chocolate

Flavio Garcia, a cocoa farmer in San Martin, Peru, saw his income quadruple after receiving a USAID-guaranteed loan. Flavio Garcia, a cocoa farmer in San Martin, Peru, saw his income quadruple after receiving a USAID-guaranteed loan from a local bank. Bobby Neptune, USAID

A broad set of USAID and Government of Peru programs is helping small farmers transition from growing illicit crops, like coca, to alternatives such as cocoa for chocolate. This has raised the incomes and improved living standards of communities that once lived in the shadow of violence and narcotrafficking. To expand ongoing efforts and fight poverty, USAID set out to get local capital into the hands of creditworthy, but underserved farmers. Meet two of them, Juanita Sanchez and Flavio Garcia, in this photo essay.