Abstract
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations endorsed agroecology as a pathway to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs; FAO 2020). As people learn about the environmental and health consequences of agrochemicals, many are consuming more agroecological produced food (Hansmann et al., 2020). Yet agroecological farmers face challenges connecting directly with these clients. Multinational corporations and middlemen often act as brokers and eat into farmers’ profits while driving up the price of organic food. This case study presents the direct-to-consumer delivery network created to address the challenges faced by agroecological farmers in Costa Rica. It is guided by a question that the farmers themselves raised: how can we connect sustainable producers with consumers to promote fair prices and fair profits? I track how San Luis Organic Farm created the Enraizadas platform that has 1) addressed challenges of market entry faced by small-scale agroecological farmers, 2) taken steps to create an online agroecological food delivery platform, and 3) present the economic and social benefits of this technological adaptation. By examining the development of this delivery network, I found that conveying the ecological benefits to consumers was key to success, fair profit sharing has led to more farmer participation, and appreciation for ecological diversity has informed economically diverse practices. Embracing challenges as opportunities to expand their business model by offering varied products by multiple participants replicates ecological resilience attained through diversity.
Presenters
Mary LittleAssociate Professor, Center for Ecological Resilience Studies, School for Field Studies, Alajuela, Costa Rica
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Food Production and Sustainability
KEYWORDS
Food Security, Food Supply Chains, Local Food Practices, Sustainable Agriculture
