Aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals 3, 5 and 12, which deal with health, well-being, gender equality and responsible production and consumption, is the main goal of the Organic Agriculture project, led by the Ecuadorian company Agroapoyo.
The company outsources the production of 95% of its raw materials to small farmers located on the Coast and in the Amazon. The company works with them to ensure a constant flow of organic fruits and vegetables, especially bananas. In addition, it helps them achieve organic certifications and makes annual contracts with fixed prices regardless of the season.. Nearly 4,000 families have benefited.
“90% of production is exported to the United States; the rest remains for the national market. As of 2016 we started the organic agriculture project, in which we wanted to work hand in hand with small farmers, so that they begin to handle the certifications”, says Verónica Oleas, head of Marketing at Agroapoyo.
Although the largest market is international, the executive comments that the trend of consuming organic products has also grown in the country. Guayaquil is one of the cities that consumes this type of products the most, driven by the opening of stores that offer them, such as La Molienda or La Cosecha. For this reason, the company seeks to encourage small and medium-sized farmers to have organic production principles and thus increase the hectares of crops with these characteristics.
“The local consumer must always observe, when buying, that organic products have a purpose that is the conservation of the environment. It is time to make decisions”, adds Oleas.
According to figures from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), lThe production of organic crops in the country represents 1% of the national cultivated area. Currently, there are 47,898 hectares of organic production. What this type of agriculture seeks is the conservation and increase of biodiversity, the maintenance of habitats, the conservation of aquifers and soil; in addition to a fair price for the farmer.
The MAG together with the Ministry of the Environment and the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) execute the Comprehensive Amazon Forest Conservation and Sustainable Production Program (PROAmazonía), to encourage the consumption of organic products. This plan is a marketing strategy for direct and indirect buyers of products that contribute to forest conservation.
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This is why in 2021 the initiative was formed Amazon Chakra, a stand at the Farmers Market Fair, in Quito, which operates on weekends. The organizations of producers and entrepreneurs move to Quito for product exhibitions. Throughout the month of March, producers from Morona Santiago will have the opportunity to exhibit their products.
Chocolate bars, roasted and ground coffee, guayusa tea, jamaica, dried and dehydrated fruits, sacha inchi, banana snacks, cassava and personal care products are sold.. In addition, as part of this initiative, these products are delivered to the Camari and Madre Tierra stores. 58 enterprises from Napo, Pastaza, Sucumbíos and Zamora Chinchipe participate in this program.
That the local consumer bets on these products not only generates a positive economic impact on small farmers, but there are also radical changes in other aspects, such as health.
“Some time ago I visited an organic farm and talked to a group of workers. One of them told me that when they used polluting fertilizers, his nose bled all the time. When he switched to organic production, the health issue totally improved”, indicates Oleas.
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Agroapoyo also seeks the participation of women in production processes. In fact, they work with a community led by women on Anaconda Island, in Napo, on whose land organic bananas are produced. The women, seeing that her husbands looked for other types of work that are not agriculture or were not interested in working the land, they assumed the trade and the entire production process.
“They have become empowered and have a permanent income that has helped them not depend on a minimum income that they previously received. The group of women is considerable”, Oleas points out.
The fruits and vegetables purchased from small farmers are processed by Agroapoyo at its plant in Puembo, Pichincha, and exported to the US in two lines of business: chifles, especially, and canned vegetables and fruits. The program of this company managed to be within the ranking of the 500 best environmental projects in Ibero-America of Green Awards, whose final gala will be between April 20 and 24. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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