Women Entrepreneurs 2

SP Rural Roots

Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatán (Mexico)

Poultry, cage-free eggs

Goal:

Assist 1,000 families in the Yucatán Peninsula to close the living income gap by developing and/or strengthening women-led cage-free egg businesses.

Expected results:

• 1,000 families close the living income gap by 35% related to the living income benchmark.
• At least 800 farms of cage-free egg production led by women linked to the local market.
• At least 250 project participants have access to financing.
• At least 800 women entrepreneurs increase their participation and leadership in the value chain.

Project Objectives:

1.  Women generate income by increasing participation and leadership in poultry enterprises.
2. Through inclusive business models, women and youth access cage-free egg markets.
3. Women strengthen social capital and partner with local networks and stakeholders.

Primary interventions:

• Diversification of suppliers to increase access to quality laying hens.
• Collective logistic service to deliver cage-free eggs.
• Savings groups and access to financing.
• Collective purchases of balanced feed.

 July-2022 to June-2025

1,000 households

None

Objectives and Progress:

Objective 1:

• New farms established: 500 new farms of 600 planned (83% of goal) were established in communities of Yucatan (212), Campeche (116), and Quintana Roo (172). 200 farms (100% of goal) were integrated as they received Passing on the Gift of knowledge.
• Training sessions conducted: 400 training sessions (equivalent to 800 hours) conducted in 92 communities of Yucatan, Campeche, and Quintana Roo, reaching 793 farmers (80% women, 20% men, and 4% youth).
• Passing on the Gift of knowledge: 9 knowledge exchange events led by farmers from the previous phase to strengthen farm and enterprise management of 101 farms (50% of goal) from Heifer’s Milpa for Life project in Yucatan and Campeche.
• Technical support: The project team and the community promoters provided technical support in farm and enterprise management to 793 out of 1,000 farmers (79% of goal) targeted for the project’s life. Farms are led 80% by women, 20% by men, and 4% by youth.

Objective 2:

• Business support: The project team supported the “Kikibá” collective of Mayan women to consolidate the business relationship with “Restaurant TOKS” in Merida, Yucatan. To date, 83 new farms were integrated to meet Toks cage-free egg demand under the «Kikibá» brand.
• Women linked to the local market: 624 of 800 farms (78%) were linked to local markets. During this period, farmers sold 965,548 eggs worth 2,896,644 MXN directly to family, neighbors, and local stores through Facebook, WhatsApp, and local markets.
• Inclusive value chains: 203 of 200 farms (101%) were linked to inclusive value chains under the «Kikibá» collective brand. From Jun-22 to Dec-23, farmers sold 659,865 eggs worth 1,979,55 MXN through direct sales to commercial partners. 162 farmers from 18 communities in Yucatan sold 449,340 eggs worth 1,472,882 MXN to Restaurant Toks.
• Community egg collection centers: 18 community egg collection centers were established by 162 farmers in Yucatan, ensuring egg quality and traceability meet market standards and volume requirements.
• Key partnerships access: Facilitated conversations with local business partners to solve the logistic bottleneck in the cage-free egg value chain to contribute to business sustainability. An alliance was established between the «Kikibá» collective and «Semilla Justa» to transport eggs from project communities to Merida at affordable prices.

Objective 3:

• Traint to trainers: 16 training sessions (equivalent to 80 hours) were conducted to strengthen the technical and enterprise skills of 29 community promoters (83% women, 17% men, 24% youth) from Yucatan (12), Campeche (5), and Quintana Roo (12).
• Collective purchases support: 116 farmers of 250 planned (46%) upscale their production by accessing capital through savings groups and individual savings. Farmers purchased 5,723 hens worth 890,320 MXN.
• Leadership in the value chain: 495 farmers of 800 planned (62%) from 55 communities of Yucatan and Quintana Roo accessed quality products and increased their participation and leadership in the value chain. To date, farmers collectively purchased 253.4 tons of balanced feed for hens worth 2,870,054 MXN. Farmers saved at least 10% through strategic business partnerships.

Saving groups: 3 saving groups (25 participants from 3 communities in Yucatan and Campeche) received 360 kg of balanced feed each worth 4,952 MXN as seed capital. These funds will be repaid within a year to Pass on the Gift to another group.