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PERU - REDUCING POVERTY THROUGH THE PROMOTION OF TYPICAL FOOD PRODUCTS

Context

Society

The high growth rate experienced over the last decade allowed Peru to
become a middle-income country. Despite the progress, the increase in
wealth has not generated enough jobs to reduce poverty to desired levels.
In remote rural areas, thousands of Peruvians still strive to earn a living
from traditional small-scale agro-food and handicrafts production. In order
to unleash the potential of these small producers, UNIDO jointly with
national partners has been promoting the use of collective marks through
Origin Consortia, which are voluntary alliances including micro enterprises
and cooperatives, seeking to improve the quality and reputation of typical
food products

Economy

Environment

Strategy
Current Results:

Funded by the Italian Cooperation, UNIDO in partnership with INDECOPI

(national institute for the defense of competition and intellectual property)
and the Ministry of Agriculture through AgroRural have joined forces for the
promotion of origin consortia and collective marks as tools for sustainable
rural development.

To improve the reputation of a typical food product and thus its value in
the markets, the producers organized within an Origin consortium must
perform four types of activities:

Improve the average quality of a typical food product to

meet the expectations of a demanding clientele;

Develop a marketing strategy around the typical product

to be able to sell it as a niche item;

Increase the visibility of the typical food product with

various partners such as municipalities, NGOs, hotels
and shops, agencies to promote rural tourism, to enable
consumers to live and experience the product in the
territory of origin.

5 origin consortia (honey, native cotton, golden

berry, traditional pasta, native potato) integrating
748 rural producers have officially registered their
collective marks and five more including 700
producers (Trout, Berry, Mushrooms, White Cheese
and Quinoa) are in the process of registering their
marks.
Participation of the origin consortia in the countrys
most important food fairs
Country ownership of the collective marks and
Origin Consortia approach and its recognition as
good governmental practice 2013 awarded.
2000 families have improved their living
conditions in extreme poverty areas in the Peruvian
Andean highlands.

Ensure through the registration of a collective label

(collective mark, geographical indication, etc.) that
only those producers complying with the jointly agreed
products specification can use the label.

The UNIDO intervention jointly with INDECOPI, Agro rural and other local
authorities covers six of the poorest regions in Peru. The project assists
producers of typical products to set-up an origin consortium, define the
product specifications, register a collective mark, improve product quality
and implement a joint marketing strategy.

Outlook
The aim of this project is to support the Government of Peru in its efforts to
fostering inclusive and sustainable rural development through the valorization of typical food products. The promotion and development of Origin
Consortia and collective marks produces impacts in several areas. Adding
value to the traditional processing methods leads to higher employment rates as it involves production systems that are based on local knowledge and
skills thus preventing rural exodus. Promoting collective marks has a great
potential, not only for increasing income opportunities of small-scale rural
producers but for the revitalization of the historical, cultural and ecological
legacy of the Peruvian regions becoming the starting point for boosting
local economic development.

The Partnership including UNIDO-IndecopiAgroRural has been active in six of the poorest
regions in Peru by assisting rural producers of
typical food products in the development and
registration of rural collective marks, in the process
of product upgrading and marketing and in the
creation of origin consortia.

At a Glance
GOAL:
MDGs:
THEME:
PARTNERS:
BUDGET:
STATUS:
DURATION:
DONOR:

Poverty reduction through the promotion of Origin Consortia

and collective marks for the valorization of typical regional
products
Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
Poverty Reduction through Productive Activities
INDECOPI (national institute for the defense of competition and
intellectual property) and the Ministry of Agriculture through
AgroRural
EUR 1,000,000 for a regional project of which Peru is a
beneficiary country
Ongoing
2011 2014
Italian Cooperation

For more information on the project contact: f.russo@unido.org For more information on UNIDO: www.unido.org