Inversion y Desarrollo con Luis Velasquez 198 1/1 Extensionismo, Cooperativas y Banca

The Agriculture Extensionism, Cooperatives and the Development Banking
play a fundamental role to reach the progress of the nations.
Provide a range of fundamental services to improve productivity and competitiveness through investments that
generate employment and thereby achieve Economic and Social Development of the countries.
Currently promote projects such as: agricultural, farming, fishery, forestry, handicrafts, housing, services among others.
Contributing to Integral Development and Guatemala being a case of success, that much that last year when I talked to the professor
Muhammad Yunus and when he spoke about Guatemala, he referred very well about the Guatemalan Cooperatives and Rural Development Bank, BANRURAL.
Today we will appoach the subject "Extensionism, Cooperatives and Development Banking".
For which today are joining us the gentlemen, Mr.Juan Lopez, a renowned supporter of Cooperativism, Extensionist and former Municipal Mayor.
and Mr. José Angel López, President of the Board of Directors of BANRURAL.
Welcome to Investment and Development.
Mr. Juan, you are a person with much wisdom, you have accumulated experience and product of it, providing
collaboration to a lot of cooperative members at national level,
but you also had a wonderful experience with the farmers.
What does the agricultural Extensionism means for the Development of Guatemala?
The Extensionism for the Development of Guatemala, is teaching people to make
grow and multiply the work of the individual, because in the past,
we worked the land and sowed corn without any other important elements so that the corn abound for the family.
On the other hand the Extensionism is supporting the corn and beans to abound, people have for their livelihood.
Also Extensionism is to teach new things to the farmer so that he work less and get more benefits,
and with what you say Mr. Juan, with all you do, you are a recognized supporter of cooperativism.
Guatemala is a case of success, 45% of GDP is generated through Cooperatives.
Near 1,400,000 are members of cooperatives in a national level, 43% are women.
What do the cooperatives represent for Guatemala?
The Cooperatives represent Development, Education and Health for Guatemala
because if you already eat and live well your health will improve.
The health of your family will be better and if you understand that education is important,
you will enroll your children in school so they can have a better development than yours.
Honestly I always thought, I suffered a lot because I was a farmer. When I was sweating, I used to say:
I hoped my children don't suffer this, that I'm suffering. Then the technique is very important,
but the technique without education is the same to not knowing how to achieve Development.
As we spoke clearly, education is the weapon,
the most powerful for the countries to come out of underdevelopment.
Mr. José Ángel, what role is being played by the National Banking to encourage
and promote an Integral Development, that is to say a Social, Economic and what Guatemala has needed the most a Rural Development?
Well, I think when we talk about development we have to see it in an
integral way and I think there are many initiatives in rural areas, but very few opportunities to implement them.
I think the Banking should be a support tool, of help and response to these initiatives in rural areas,
what many people in rural areas need is only an opportunity in the case of these initiatives.
They have been for a very long time supported by credits,
but in the last 14 or 15 years have been better supported,
as a result of the existence of BANRURAL and it's amazing what you can see at National level,
of how the communal economy is dynamized.
But like my dad, I remember told us: that it's useless
having one more penny, if one isn't educated to spend it.
Maybe not to spend it but to invest it, then I think that is the point
because we can have many opportunities, but if people aren't educated.
there must be an understanding between technology, technical assistance
and financial opportunities. I think that's what BANRURAL has been
developing very well over the past 15 years.
What microcredit programs have been working for MSMEs, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Guatemala?
Well, the very nature of BANRURAL is to support all the initiatives that are both in rural and urban areas
and one can see we have a team that has very important qualities to identify where those needs are.
But also where are those great opportunities and where is
this great potential, these capabilities and it's in the entire geography of the country
and in a lot of activities. I remember that we were reported
in the Council, that around 700 destinations that exist in credits.
I think that this is what we have to do, manage to visualize where that potential is
of all citizens of the urban rural area who are eager to get ahead
but that need support in an integral way.
And I think that is what we should think from here forward.
Mr. Juan you have had a wonderful experience, surely many of us would like to have it too.
How do you see the importance of reaching an Integral Rural Development in Guatemala?
The importance of achieving development in Guatemala, is that we all must speak the same language,
the same word to search for Development. There is a lot of people that say I already lived here, let this thing end.
They don't want nothing more, that's being selfish. At my point of view we have to teach always, teach and teach people for them to learn.
I will tell you something: an engineer gave me five pounds of coffee
and told me to dig a big hole, take out the garbage from my house and fill in the hole,
even if it's only one plant to sow a year. If you're lazy he said, well I did it and there I began with coffee.
When I had my production of what he gave me
I gathered 52 young Jacaltecos and gave half a pound each,
I gave them land to sow, taught them how to fill bags, how to do it and how to carry the coffee.
I didn't want to be the only one in my town who had the coffee production. I taught young people, gathered them together, gave speeches.
That's what you call Extension and if we look at these results you say in the Extensionism
and in the cooperativism, we will definitely achieve an Integral Rural Development which is what we are looking for in Guatemala.
Let's take a brake and then we will continue with Investment and Development.
We continue with Investment and Development.
Mr. José Ángel, we see in Switzerland that the basis of their success was the work
that they performed together with the Cooperatives and this led them to an Integral Development.
How the National Banking together with the Cooperatives work for the Development of the country of Guatemala?
This model is successful and I think we are accomplishing it.
A good percentage of the Cooperatives interact with the Banking, in this case BANRURAL.
I think there is a synergy that makes it possible because both have as a purpose the Development.
Synergy is there not only in terms of development but
also in their composition they are broadly based.
BANRURAL has broadly based stockholders, broadly based costumers,
and Cooperatives have a broadly based membership and that makes
it possible to find these elements in common, so to say:
hit harder to jump higher towards Development and that synergy is what
is enabling it and Banking in general terms should seek for synergies of that nature.
At the end, whatever the nature of business is,
we should always be willing to bet on the development of the country because it's a good deal.
We all win, if things go well for this person and for another, for this person
things will go better, so then what we have to do in the country,
is to assemble a system of synergies with all of the actors involved
to support the development. I think that the Swiss model is being replicated in Guatemala.
Of course, the level of development is different, but I bet
and perhaps exaggerating to be very positive, but I think that kind
of synergies could stimulate the development of the country perfectly.
I agree with Mr. Jose Angel Lopez in that sense, now Mr. Juan, you with all the experience achieved,
what should be the role of Community Leaders, Mayors,
Governors of the Community Development Councils, Municipal Development Councils and Departmental Development Councils
to power and to take the Local Economic Development,
that is the Development of one Community, of one Municipality and the development of a Department?
For me the work of these people, the neighbors they look for it
and they vote for them, so that they can represent them in any
institution but at the same time they should also seek
the mechanism of a person development, the bad thing, so to say for example:
We only think in one school, to build a one bridge and to do things.
We forget about the real human need, which is the development that we have been talking about.
Fundamental for them to feel committed to the development of all their inhabitants.
Mr. José Angel in the part of accompaniment and giving technical assistance is essential so that they
the producers have the necessary tools to cultivate their crops with success.
How BANRURAL supports them in this part?
Most of the efforts BANRURAL make, are done
with their allies, which are the organizations, so to say,
works with many organizations, works with several communities,
works with Cooperatives that already have technical support schemes,
and what my father said, that makes it possible for all to pay their credits.
That way it's possible to see the percentage of overdue payment that is below 1%. It's in 0.70% if I'm not wrong
because only giving a loan without a productive project,
has its risks and I believe that with this technical
complementation it's possible, but there are no better allies and it's an element
that is worth to emphasize. Those accompanying allies that are committed because they know
that this opportunity that the Bank gives is strategic for the future
of its business and it's important to be responsible, not only to pay,
but prior to that, do the things well with the support of technology,
of the technical assistance in market terms.
That's the success, as I say, maybe I'm being very repetitive with the word
but these synergies make this result possible and one synergy is that positive vibration that all the institutions must have
and the human beings to have more than positive results.
Well, I ratify, BANRURAL is a success as the cooperatives,
and for being so successful precisely, the United Nations has declared this year 2,012 "The International Year of Cooperatives".
What does that represent to Guatemala and the world, Mr. Juan?
Good thing that the United Nations realize the need
to promote and to make better the cooperative movement, if it's done better
the technical work, better citizens are made. Better people are made
and more honest. I had the opportunity to go to Germany to see the house where the founder
of the first cooperative in the world lived and it says that Germany had a hunger.
Then the Mayor, listen, the Town Mayor told the rich man who had wheat to give it to the municipality,
so then the Mayor made an oven and put the people who knew
how to make bread to make one loaf of bread every day, because it was a tremendous hunger
but with the condition that people had to return two loaves, not just one.
That was the interest on the one loaf of bread I ate today, then the Mayor realized that helping each other
we can save ourselves from hunger, misery, anything.
So then this man founded the first cooperative movement in the world
and so the idea began to disperse and gradually it kept growing and
became better. In Germany I met a cooperative that has four levels. It's a supermarket,
that they have everything, at each level there are certain things.
Then we go back again to education, which is the fundamental basis
of what we're talking about because things were done well
in Europe because they are well developed in education.
So education made people be sensitive to go and return
two loaves of bread for one and there arose the Cooperative Movement. If here in Guatemala we understood this.
I strongly agree, I listened to the President that says,
let the problems get to an end and let's get together to seek the Development of Guatemala. If all of us get together and we all search
for that path that the President is talking about, within ten years, Guatemala would be something else
because we all want development like the one you have tried to
implement in Jacaltenango, Huehuetenango and many places.
Let's take a break and then we will continue with the third and final part of Investment and Development.
We continue with Investment and Development, Mr. José Ángel it's important to instill in the children and young people, a culture of savings
for them to be able to work together with the banks too.
What programs you in the bank focused for students, children and youth?
Well, I think this is a very important issue because the new
generations equally need more and better opportunities
and what is better than to inculcate the habit of savings, labor and productivity.
I think in that sense, indeed there are programs for children
and youth in several ways, not just about savings but also opportunities.
At the same way, so I say, it's important that interrelation
of the nature of cooperatives, the nature of BANRURAL,
also the cooperatives that work and they are shareholders of BANRURAL.
Recently, here in the Cooperative Movement, we talked about, who will be
the cooperative members of tomorrow? How is our seedling? Then we have
to start working on it and make it. In fact, here we already we have a youth program
which has now been institutionalized which is the "National Youth Cooperative Council"
and equally this group of young people will be BANRURAL customers and shareholders.
Again I return to that dynamic interrelation that must exist.
Important this approach to childhood, to youth because
they represents 70% of the population under 30 years old at this time.
To say, Guatemala is a very young country with a fortress and a
tremendous potential but also it's good that you have projects directed to elderly people.
Now Mr. Juan, participation and inclusion of women is fundamental
for the Development of a society, 43% of women are cooperative members
of 1,400,000 partners that you have.
70% of the crafts that are produced and marketed in Guatemala are made by women, mostly in the rural areas.
What importance are giving the Cooperatives to the participation
of women in the productive element, in the credit element, in the savings element,
in supporting them in their projects and take advantage of that entrepreneurial spirit?
Thinking about it good, women have always been somewhat marginalized.
It's the story of us Guatemalans, that we always think that the woman is only for the kitchen.
Only serves to raise and care for children and is good only for that.
But we go back to education, many good people who came
from outside, they thought of organizing women and started the organizations,
began to give support to crafts, to several things and women
involved in all of this and now there are women who are united to produce
vegetables and sell them, earning good money.
There are women, who are organized to plant flowers,
cut flowers, sell them and earn good money. Of this there hasn't been in the country, to be honest.
But this opportunity that woman have now, for me, it's a blessing from God because women
already collaborates with her husband, and now collaborates with their children.
The woman is already educated, is interested in educating their children,
to be better than her. She is interested in making. The interest is good,
but if you don't even have the economic part even if you are interested,
what the bank does is to support the credits for the
women to be able to manage and allowes them to do many things that
maybe men can't honestly do. They do well
in their organization, in their work, sell well, they don't mind staying all day in the market offering their product.
They reach home, take care of their children and they go to school. For me it's very important the opportunity that the Bank
gave to women to develop.
We clearly see that woman has that special gift that
complements the economic part even also from
families. BANRURAL has been very successful in expanding through all the Republic, in the different municipalities of the country
and is now expanding to Honduras.
How has been that success at National level, International and Regional of Central America?
Well, I think that in this sense, perhaps just a little
on the subject of women, I think it's called the Global Index
of Entrepreneurship that is made by the Francisco Marroquin University.
Entrepreneurship Index is higher in women
than men and I believe that this data is giving us an indication that the role of women every day is
more important and will be more prominent. In this regard I mention the case of the cooperatives
there is also the National Council of Women Cooperative.
In the cooperatives the woman isn't in second place,
she is in the same level as the male and has the same importance.
Obviously we are talking about rural areas and has to be developed.
In another order of ideas, in fact the strategy of BANRURAL
is to regionalize but it's not about to establish a representation
in a particular country or place, but rather to replicate the model.
That's where it's clearly seen that we all are Guatemala
and that when we learn to live together and harmonize with common objectives
and work as a team it definitely gives
cases of success as the Cooperative Sector that has been recognized, even now by the United Nations.
And so this year has been declared "The Year of Cooperatives" worldwide level and also as cases such as of BANRURAL,
that are a highly recognized case of success, Mr. Juan we could talk with you for many hours,
in another occasion we will make a very special documentary
for being the 100 years of the Cooperative Movement, from now, we invite you
so that you can be here in Investment and Development, share also with Jose Angel, good thing father and son, two generations.
It's exactly what we are doing with my son Luis
and myself. So it has been a great pleasure to speak about what it is the Agricultural Extensionism. What it means
the Cooperative Movement and Development Banking of Guatemala.
The Extensionism, Cooperatives and the Banking are fundamental
for the economy of a country, promoting in communities
projects that contribute to de Integral Rural Development,
which have been determinants for the Integral Growth of Nations, so that companies reach better
results and that people in rural areas have access to
Productive Projects that allow families to aspire to
a better Economic Development, a better Social Development
and therefore a better Human Development contributing on the improvement of the quality of people's life.
See you next week in an interesting program as the one of today.