Together for a better future

In a busy ceremony held in Celendín, the Regional Government of Cajamarca, the Celendín Provincial Municipality and Yanacocha signed a participation and commitment agreement to co-fund the Project “Construcción del centro de abastos de la provincia de Celendín - II etapa” (Construction of a supply center for the Celendín Province – II stage), valued in 9 million Nuevos Soles.

According to the agreement, the Regional Government (GR) and the Celendín Provincial Municipality (MPC) will provide 2 million Nuevos Soles each and Yanacocha, through the Solidarity Mining Fund on a regional level and the Conga Project, will contribute with 5 million Nuevos Soles. Aside from the amount mentioned, GR and MPC committed to draft and obtain the approvals required for the pre-investment and investment assessments.

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It is once again proven that when public and private institutions work together, important projects can be performed, projects to set the bases for sustainable development and allow the improvement of the quality of life for the population.

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Could a mine promote development before starting to operate?

We have been working for the sustainable development in communities, despite the fact we have not become a mine yet. Why? Because we have a social and environmental commitment with Cajamarca.

We believe that sustainable human development is an approach which promotes fundamental skills of the people (education, health, income, civic participation, among others) and at the same time, train citizens to acquire high levels of autonomy.

There are a lot of cases we could share. At this time, we will introduce the case of the famous milk from Cajamarca.

Case 1: Healthy Cows = rich milk = quality dairy products.

We decided to work with dairy farmers in Cajamarca because they need more training and technical assistance. The aim is to improve the skills of dairy farmers in order to optimize their income and quality of life.

With this project, "Training and Employment Promotion in Dairy Cattle in Cajamarca", we have been able to train more than 8300 dairy farmers in the watershed of the Encañada, Cajamarca,Tumbaden and Conchan, also in the provinces of Cajamarca, San Miguel and San Pablo.

Thanks to the Fondo de Crédito para el Desarrollo Agroforestal (FONCREAGRO) which we are supporting, 870 families benefit from improved health conditions of livestock and plant improved pastures, among other services.Since the cows are the main source of milk produced in Cajamarca, we have implemented a preventive vaccination campaign and we have also boosted the registration and earrings of cows to optimize production.

Since the cows are the main source of milk produced in Cajamarca, we have implemented a preventive vaccination campaign and we have also boosted the registration and earrings of cows to optimize production.

Conga´s formula

How to contribute to human development for the dairy farmers to produce more milk of better quality?

• A strong and committed partnership with local actors
• A rich Credit Fund for Agroforestry Development (FONCREAGO)
• Intense training for dairymen
• Essential care for the cows (registration, vaccination and veterinary services)
• Good Pastures
• A lot of quantities of work committed to a long-term vision

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For the hamlets to produce more and better

Conga´s Teams of Social Development and Community Relations make the effort every day to visit neighbouring communities and share productivity methods with them. In the city of Cajamarca, more than 800 families from 38 hamlets in the towns of La Encañada, Sorochuco and Huasmin have already begun to experience positive changes through development projects which we carry out within the area.

Partners for Development: From left to right: Inés Pando Salazar, Conga Project Social Development Coordinator; Miguel Lacsa Fuentes, potato farmer of Uñigan Pululo Hamlet and Nicolas Caballero Bardales, Specialist in Productive Development of Asociación Los Andes de Cajamarca (ALAC).

Seven options to produce

Nicolas Caballero Bardales, a specialist in the productive development of Asociación Los Andes de Cajamarca (ALAC), tells us that within the next 3 to 5 years, seven projects will be implemented.

“At the moment we are developing programs such as: the native potato, dairy livestock and we are about to start the productive project of ground berry (aguaymanto). Next year we will implement a bio-commercial programme as well as a milk processing plant”.

Future Kings of the native potatoes

Thanks to the projects "Production of commercial native potato" and "Production and marketing of quality potato seed”, Miguel Llacsa Fuentes, potato producer of the hamlet of Uñigan Palulo, is learning to maximize his farmland by preserving the environment and getting trained in business management.

"We want to become great negotiators of potatoes and have a fixed market. Thus we could resolve our work and make a profit from it."

The project is implemented by the Asociación para el Desarrollo Sostenible del Perú (ADERS Perú).

The future king of native potato: Miguel Llacsa Fuentes, potato producer of the hamlet of Uñigan Palulo wants to become a great negotiatior and have a mixed market. Thus he could solve his work and “makes a profit from it”.

Cajamarca: Delicious, fresh milk

There are currently 870 families participating in the competitive development project of dairy livestock run by the Fondo de Crédito para del Desarrollo Agroforestal (Foncreagro) (FONCREAGRO, Credit Fund for Agroforestry Development) The goal is to optimize the quality of milk by improving sanitary conditions of the livestock, pasture, among others.

Communities with forward-looking approach.

In addition to these programs, in Conga we integrate an institutional network that promotes the creation of Community Development Committees (Codeco) as a strategy for community empowerment.

Consuelo Sanchez Cortez, vice president of Codeco in the hamlet of Uñigan Pululo tells us:

"Thanks to Codeco there has been a mass participation of people in the community. We have carried out many initiatives such as Improved Stoves, the creation of the Educational Institution “Uñigan Pululo” and, for 2011, we have planned a program of technical irrigation’

Ines Pando Salazar, Coordinator of Social Development in Conga Project says:

"These projects endeavour to improve the living conditions of farmers in neighbouring areas within the scope of the Conga project. The idea is to make our neighbors incorporate into their daily lives better tools and techniques in agriculture and livestock management, and thus gain more income”

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6 good reasons

If Conga becomes a mine, it will be a great chance for development because:

1. There will be more water for the fields.
2. It will promote development programs during 20 years.
3. There will be training programs and employment.
4. It will boost the local and regional economy.
5. It will allow the state to generate incomes through the taxes.
6. It will generate mining royalties for the local development.

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5 classic prejudices

Our lack of knowledge of the current mining industry.

1. The mining industry on the head of the river basin leaves towns without water
• Every mine, by law, has to guarantee the same quantity of water which users used to have before. A mine with social responsibility will look after harvesting more water for its neighbors.

2. Mining pollutes
• The laws and regulations have changed drastically. In Peru, the state protects the environmental equilibrium. A modern mine: Instead of avoiding the environmental liability (alleviation), its technicians generate more environmental assets (reservoirs, laboratories of agriculture experimentation, new technologies for ecological monitoring, etc)

3. Mining companies avoid people participation
• It is impossible to start a mining project without the EIA’s approval by the Ministry.
Activities promoting citizen participation are essential for an EIA. Activities promoting citizen participation are essential for an EIA, so a company committed to its community visits villages, talks to popular leaders, provides information materials, among other activities.

4. EIAs are cooked from the beginning
• Once the Environmental Impact Assessment is approved, a set of standards must be fulfilled by the company in order to ensure an adequate social and environmental management. An EIA must satisfy the regulatory framework of our country.

5. Mining impoverishes people
• Poverty is a problem that Government must face up. Mining royalty generates public incomes. However, a company aware of this big challenge, invests in social programs to improve the life quality of the neighbors. Therefore, they can go beyond and promote projects fostering institutional strengthening.

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