PAI / Fruempac Farms is an association of four family-owned farms located near General Roca in the Rio Negro Valley of Argentina. Together we farm almost 100 ha of organic apples and pears with an irrigation system  from  the river. The oldest orchard was planted in 1957 and the most recent one in 2002. In 1970, four of us decided to join forces to work together and learn from each other and jointly we established a  packing facility in order to export our fruit. Shortly thereafter, Franco heard about organic practices during a visit to Italy. When he began implementing organic practices on his farm, we also developed an interest and decided to do likewise. Eventually, we hired a full-time agronomist to help us completely convert our farms, which were certified organic in 1999.

In order to assure continual progress of organic practices, the agronomist visits each farm twice a week and discusses with farm managers and workers fertility management, pest control, and specific organic post-harvest techniques. A few years ago we began to incorporate compost as an important element of our organic management.

Our family farms comprise of 20 to 40 ha and are well isolated from conventional neighbours, either by double rows of windbreaks or adjacent wild areas. The orchards are irrigated with some of the purest river waters in Argentina that originates from glaciers in the High Andes. Unlike other packing houses in the area, Fruempac Farms share a packing facility that is dedicated to organic production and has recently been expanded and modernized in 2003.

Interview

Franco, Roberto & Raul

N&M: What was your motivation for changing to organic practices? 
Franco: I first heard of organic food production in Italy and it struck me as an interesting system, not too unlike the way I already farmed anyway. What I liked best was the close attention organic farmers pay to their orchards. Instead of just following a recipe, they actually watch and observe the development of their plants and care for them accordingly. For example, I only irrigate my orchard when the soil and the trees need it, never according to a set schedule. To me this is an organic practice. The organic principles made sense, which motivated me to learn more. I got a lot of support from one of my sons, who is a conservationist, and he got excited about it as well. You could say organic farming was a natural fit for us. 

Roberto: Several factors influenced me to switch to organic practices over time. My mother commented to me that fruit does not taste like it used to, when my father farmed. My father eventually sold his farm. The soil is was not very good, but I had a special feeling about the place, so I bought it back in the 1980's when it came up for sale. The soil had to be built up anyway, so I decided to do it the natural way in order to produce fruit that tastes like it used to! 

Raul: I heard my neighbours talk about organic farming. At the same time I realized that I was applying more and more fertilizer in order to get the same level of yields. Even though I may not fully understand all the ins and outs of the organic system yet, the principle makes perfect sense to me. Instead of being dependent on chemical inputs, I perceive organic farming as a system whereby the soil fertility can be maintained and even improved by natural means. 

N&M: So, have you encountered any obstacles along the way? 
Franco: Of course we have, but then farming is full of challenges regardless of whether it is conventional or organic. However, we have always been open to experimenting with new practices, so changing to organic production was not really such a big step. The biggest challenge was learning to make compost that works. I had learned about composting in Italy, but that was merely theoretical. When making compost on my own farm, I soon realized that there is a difference between decomposing matter and proper compost that feeds the soil. After a few years of working at it, we are now at a point where we are satisfied with our compost and we are seeing the results. 

Roberto: Organic farming in itself is a challenge and while I was inspired by the principle of organic farming, I did not know any details about it and I relied entirely on Franco in order to teach us about this rediscovered way of farming. Since Franco was new to this form of agriculture too, we saw that we needed some external expertise and we hired an agronomist. This way all four of us work together and are able to ship organic fruit to our customers that is of uniform high quality. 

N&M: How do you involve your workers in ensuring a quality organic product reaches the market? 
Guillermo: We make a concerted effort in this area. We include employees in two-way communications within the company, mostly by means of regular meetings. For example, all fulltime employees meet together (including management) to review the problems of the previous year and make suggestions as to how to avoid them in the next season. We also involve workers from the packing operation in designing and testing improvements. They experiment with improved clothing, gloves, shoe wear etc. to find what works best in cool packing house conditions. The goal is to ensure good working conditions for our employees and the best possible handling for our fruit. As long as it does not compromise the quality of our fruit nor go against any certified standards, we let the workers decide.