Alfredo

Alfredo is 51 years old and single. He lives in Malacatos and has three children – two daughters aged 19 and 22 and a son aged 24 – who are all currently studying at university.

Alfredo's main activity is agriculture. He grows cassava and maize on a plot of land granted to him by his father-in-law, for which he does not pay rent. He currently cultivates 1 hectare of cassava and 1 hectare of maize, to which he devotes approximately two hours a day for their care, management and supervision. He sells his produce to local traders and at the “Gran Productor” fair in the city of Loja, where he has gradually built up a network of buyers who recognise the quality of his products.

His agricultural microenterprise generates an monthly profit of £290. In addition he earns £300 per month from day labour work. With these resources he has been able to support his family and contribute to his children’s university education.

Alfredo explains that at the beginning he only worked as a day labourer. Faced with the need to generate higher income to cover household expenses and help his children study at university, he decided to start growing cassava and maize. His first seeds were given to him by his grandparents, and with that support he took his first steps in agricultural activity. He sold his first harvest to his neighbours and at the Quinara fair, which allowed him to see that his initiative was well received and had growth potential.

Over time, his microenterprise has shown significant growth. At first he cultivated only three small plots of cassava and five of maize; today, by contrast, he cultivates 1 hectare of cassava a year and 1 hectare of maize, which allows him to meet his customers’ orders more effectively. Thanks to the profits generated by his business, he has managed to support his children in their university studies and maintain a more solid economic base for his household.

The main difficulty Alfredo currently faces is the lack of capital to continue driving his microenterprise forward. He used his savings to pay tuition fees and other expenses related to his children’s entry into university, which left him without sufficient capital to invest in inputs and agricultural work for his crops. This has limited his capacity to expand and improve production.

For this reason, Alfredo has applied for a loan that he will allocate specifically to the purchase of organic fertiliser, the acquisition of hoses to improve irrigation, land preparation and the payment of labour for cleaning and management tasks on his cassava and maize crops. With this investment, he hopes to improve the yield of his plots, secure more stable production and increase his income.

Alfredo undertakes to repay the loan in 12 monthly instalments, punctually meeting his financial obligations.