Empowering women through vegetable cultivation in Nicaragua: End of Project Report

The northern region of Nicaragua produces 60% of the country’s food crops. Despite this, women often struggle to access markets and own their own farmland. Meanwhile, the impacts of climate change are increasing the frequency of climate shocks, which affect crop quality and yield.

In response, the Technical Assistance Department of coffee co-operative Sacaclí has worked with Shared Interest Foundation to establish of a new soilless farming enterprise, enabling participants to diversify into sustainable food crop production to effectively boost incomes and secure livelihoods.

This project supported 60 women in total: 40 women engaged in crop production and training, whilst 20 women participated in financial and business-oriented training.

Project activities

Greenhouse construction 

As part of this project, two greenhouses were constructed in June 2025 and the construction of 12 cement beds within the greenhouses was completed in July 2025.

The greenhouses are 10 x 30m (300 m² each) and were designed with roof ventilation to improve natural airflow and climate regulation. The greenhouses were constructed with galvanised metal pipes and have been anchored 80cm in concrete foundations.

These structural features are designed for durability and resistance to adverse weather conditions. The roofs are covered with UV-treated plastic which accommodates appropriate light transmission, anti-drip properties and thermal insulation. The sides are enclosed with 50 mesh insect nets, reducing pest entry.

Irrigation system installation

The drip irrigation equipment was purchased 20th of July 2025 and installed in August 2025.

Agricultural skills training

40 participants were split into two groups of 20. One group engaged in cherry tomato production and the other in chilli pepper production. Two six-hour agricultural skills training sessions took place for chilli peppers in July 2025, and cherry tomatoes in August 2025.

Participants received detailed training in production with key themes including:

Technical knowledge

• Soil type and pH, and soil management
• Climatic conditions and light requirements
• Plant spacing
• Planting cycles and expected harvest times
• Selection of crop varieties
• Use of greenhouses
• Irrigation management
• Fertilisation management
• Preparation of substrates using 50% mountain soil and 50% commercial substrate

Pest and disease management

• Identification of key pests
• Understanding pest biology and life cycles
• Crop diseases that impact cherry tomatoes and chilli peppers
• Integrated Pest Management practices

Practical, hands-on training

• Transplanting crops in greenhouse conditions
• Crop management tasks (e.g. harvesting, fertilising, cleaning, irrigation).
• Pruning techniques (tomato training only).

As well as practical sessions, training included visual presentations, diagrams and participatory discussions.

Refresher training for the 40 members also took place in February 2026.

Key topics focused on preparing for the new harvest and cleaning the area for new production.

Training in finance and business management

In January and February 2026, a structured financial education programme was delivered to all 60 participants. Three training sessions were carried out, each covering three topics.

Key themes:

• Basic accounting
• Record-keeping
• Understanding and analysing production costs
• Pricing and setting prices for products
• Market analysis and understanding demand
• Marketing skills
• Entrepreneurial and business management skills

The programme also included a strong empowerment component to build participants’ confidence as economic actors and decision-makers.

Harvesting

Seedlings for both chilli peppers and cherry tomatoes were planted in June 2025 – initially in nurseries – and then transplanted into greenhouse beds. Harvesting of tomatoes began in September 2025 and for chilli peppers in October 2025.

Crops were picked repeatedly over several months. By February 2026 – eight months after planting – approximately 7.3 and 9.3 metric tonnes of cherry tomatoes and chilli peppers respectively had been produced, generating over £9,000 in sales.

Crops were carefully sorted and classified into saleable and rejected quantities. Only a small proportion of produce was lost due to size, quality or handling.

Project Impacts 

Forty women have engaged in a crop production enterprise, providing them with an additional source of income.

The crop production enterprise provided the women with an opportunity to earn additional income through chilli pepper and cherry tomato sales. The project adopts hydroponic farming methods, allowing for year-round production and resilience against climate shocks. The enterprise also ensures market access with the principal buyer Uchong, with whom Sacaclí have a strong relationship with.

Additionally, it manages administration and finance responsibilities. Profits are distributed evenly between the women following the harvest, irrespective of which crop they are producing. Income is expected to become more regular as production at the enterprise grows.

At the start of the project, none of the women had experience in hydroponic farming methods. Participants reported initial scepticism due to unfamiliarity with the project’s activities and a “lack of knowledge about precision farming” (Jaime Martin Gutiérrez Montenegro, Project Manager and Horticultural Technical Advisor at Sacaclí). 

Despite this, our evaluation at the end of the project showed 92% of participants reported confidence in the new farming methods. Furthermore, the end evaluation demonstrated strong evidence of the women adopting the new farming methods with successful technical implementation.

Despite only carrying out one full harvest so far, 97% of participants reported satisfaction with production, reflecting the women’s enthusiasm to continue with the project activities and reinforcing the sustainability of the project.

In the final questionnaire, Jaime mentioned the challenge of organising the group due to the large number of participants. This was overcome by setting up eight working groups, four per crop, which rotate daily to carry out most of the tasks.

The monthly income of the farmers has increased by 50% from £82 per month to £123 per month.

From our end evaluation, we observed 89.2% of women reported that their income level was higher by the close of the project. There was also an increase of 20.2% of women reporting their income is always sufficient, whilst near universal food security was indicated, with 97.3% of participants citing they can always provide three meals a day for their family.

97.3% of participants reported they were satisfied with the income generated from crop production. Considering this is the first harvest, it is predicted that income will become more consistent as skills, knowledge and confidence continue to increase.

We interviewed two participants of this project, Gema Janeth Meza Siles and Zendaya del Socorro Gutiérrez Cruz. Both women reported significant income increases from crop production of 16,286 NIO. Gema told us this income “ensures the household’s financial stability."

Jaime told us:

“The women are motivated and keen to work consistently, as this [project] has had a significant economic and personal impact on them, helping them to recognise that they are capable, [but] also agents of change in modernised, high-value agriculture“.

8,400 units of chilli peppers and 6,000lbs of cherry tomatoes were produced in the first 12 months of production.

At the start of this project, the production volume of chilli peppers was estimated to be 8,400 units, whilst cherry tomatoes was estimated to be 6,000lbs. At the end of this project, participants yielded 11,300 chilli peppers and 10,671lbs of cherry tomatoes, greatly exceeding initial targets.

Upon project completion in May 2026, the total income generated was 603,682 NIO (£12,149) across an area of 600 m². This figure is predicted to increase once the cherry tomato harvest is complete.

Income was also higher than expected due to the high quality of chilli peppers produced, which received an increased buying price of 17 NIO from 16 NIO.

Project participant Gema reported the result had ‘exceeded [her] expectations’, whilst Zendaya told us she was ‘very happy and delighted’ by these outcomes.

60 women gained skills in basic financial education and business management.

Training in financial topics was delivered to 60 women in January and February 2026. Four in five women are now part of a savings group, whilst three-quarters of all participants reported an increase in their savings by the end evaluation.

When participants were asked how they spend income:

• 27% reported that they reinvest in their business
• 40.5% are able to save part of their income each month
• 56.8% use income solely for household costs 
• 16.2% do a combination of the three activities.

59.5% of participants reported they were always (21) or often (one) making profit by the end of the project, compared to 19.5% in the baseline survey, where five and three women always or often made profit respectively.

Sacaclí were also able to reserve 35% of sales income to support the cost of production for the next cycle in November, to ensure financial stability and the sustainability of this project.