Canada promotes rural economic opportunities in Colombia by working with SOCODEVI and the Canadian Co-operative Association.
June 17, 2014 – Ottawa, Ontario – Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD)
Canada is committed to supporting the advancement of economic growth in Colombia. For this reason, the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, the Honourable Christian Paradis, today announced a financial contribution by the Government of Canada to two key partners, SOCODEVI and the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA), to execute development projects that will promote rural economic opportunities in Colombia.
This announcement comes just days after Minister Paradis confirmed Canada’s contribution to Développement international Desjardins’ Project to Support Colombia’s Agricultural Finance System, which aims to expand access to credit and agricultural insurance by Colombia’s small- and medium-scale farmers, and to build their financial management capacities.
All of these projects aim to promote sustainable economic growth in certain regions of Colombia. The projects are designed to improve the living conditions of rural Colombians by offering them various economic opportunities. Small-scale farmers and forest operators—both men and women—will thus be able to increase their yields and the quality of their products. This should have positive impacts on their respective communities.
“Canada realizes that small-scale farmers and forest operators play a very important economic role in many developing countries, as they do in Colombia,” Minister Paradis said. “I am confident that the projects announced today, executed by solid Canadian partners, will offer support that will enable thousands of Colombians to earn a better living and to feed their families properly.”
Sandrine Périon
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie
819-953-9528
sandrine.perion@international.gc.ca
Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
343-203-7700
media@international.gc.ca
Follow us on Twitter: @DFATD_Dev
Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/DFATDDevelopment
