San Vicente Cooperative Votes to Admit Sixty New Farms

The Cooperative Council in San Vicente voted 47 to 31 yesterday to admit sixty new smallholder farms to the federation, the largest single expansion in five years. The vote came after three hours of closed debate over dues structures, access to fair-price schemes, and the cooperative's capacity to process registrations at the Federal Office for Cooperative Affairs.

The new farms—mostly from the interior towns of Iguazú and Oberá—represent a mix of established producers and first-time applicants seeking entry into the cooperative's export network. Council members cited rising demand from federal buyers and the need to absorb smallholders who have been locked out of registration for up to eighteen months due to federal paperwork backlogs.

But the vote exposed a fracture within the cooperative's own ranks. A minority faction warned that admitting so many new members at once could strain the council's ability to audit compliance with sustainability standards and to negotiate better terms with Oriente Moderno's port authority—which controls loading priorities and sets the baseline price for Tierra Verde coffee exports.