In Costa Rica, the Duisburg company BioTropic has started a new development project. Around 75 small farmers from the province of Alajuela, in the north of the country, will learn how organic agriculture works. This should help them to survive with organic products on the international market. Man and nature should benefit equally from the project.
"We would like to qualify these smallholders to produce exportable organic goods sustainably and in sufficient quantities," says Sascha Suler, Operations Manager of BioTropic in Duisburg, about the project in Costa Rica. Agriculture in the Central American country has so far been characterized by large monocultures of bananas and pineapples. The areas are usually dominated by large, international fruit companies. The small farmers are left behind and usually have no chance to gain a foothold in the global market with their products.
Left: Managing director Sascha Suler (middle) together with farmers in the ginger field - Right: A small farmer with turmeric.
Knowledge is the key
"With our project, we now want to make a contribution to the local smallholder farmers being able to carry out environmentally friendly organic farming and to live off the yields," says BioTropic Managing Director Andree Mols. BioTropic estimates that farmers' incomes will increase by 20 percent during the project phase as they gain access to the world market, which previously was denied them.
The teaching of knowledge is the key here. In collaboration with the University of Costa Rica in the state capital of San José, BioTropic farmers are currently being trained on a variety of topics, like the proper fertilization of organic crops. In the second phase of the project, scheduled to start in mid-2019, BioTropic intends to invest in local infrastructure. Thus, among other things, a packing station for the processing and onward transport of goods is to be created. The small farmers will mainly grow ginger, turmeric and sweet potatoes in organic quality, which BioTropic will distribute for them worldwide.
develoPPP
The project is designed for a total of two years. It is funded by the develoPPP program of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The program supports private sector involvement where entrepreneurial opportunities and development action need to be met. The German Investment and Development Corporation carries out project funding on behalf of the BMZ. BioTropic has already implemented similar projects in the Dominican Republic and the Ivory Coast.
For more information:
BioTropic GmbH
Daimlerstraße 4
47167 Duisburg
Tel +49 203 51 87 60
Fax +49 203 51 87 63 60
info@biotropic.com
www.biotropic.com