Pragor

Pragor, is a cooperative of organic farmers, situated in the state Michoacán, Mexico. It is an association of around 75 small producers located in 8 different municipalities. The orchards of the members of the association are scattered throughout the volcanic area of Michoacán around the city of Uruapan. The fertile volcanic soil and the climate at around 1600 m of altitude above sea level is the perfect environment to grow avocados. Therefore,  the region Uruapan, 200 miles west from Mexico City, is known as ‘the world capital of the avocado’.

The cooperative Pragor was established in November 2001. Its goal is to produce high quality organic avocados, grapefruits and mangoes and to promote and distribute them in the market place: The continuous improvement of organic cultivation is an integral part of the cooperative. Growers have thus an opportunity to share their experiences and to enhance their understanding of organic practices.

All Pragor members are considered smallholders, meaning that as rule they do not own more than 10 hectares. Pragor’s task to organize grower meetings and the logistics of the harvest is comprehensive, since many of the families live in remote and difficult to reach villages. With joint forces Pragor manages to improve the general living standards of the members.
Every Pragor member has the right to hand in a proposal regarding the social projects to be accomplished with the Fair Trade premium. Given that Pragor members live in 8 different municipalities (with different necessities) these proposals are of ample variety. The members have to decide, in a democratic way, how to spend the Fair Trade Funds. It has already been decided that the first funds will be used to support a centre for handicapped people in Periban. Another proposal, which is currently under investigation, is to hire a doctor who will be responsible for all Pragor members and their families. As the Mexican health system is very poor (and relatively expensive), such a system is far more effective and less costly.

Javier Moreno

Javier Moreno is a lime grower in the state of Colima on the west coast of Mexico. Colima is the third smallest of Mexico's states. It is tucked away on the Pacific coast. Colima has a hot, dry climate, perfect for the production of the sour Mexican Lime (limón).

Javier Moreno started to grow the sour Mexican Lime thirty years ago in 1976. During the 90’s Javier got interested in organic cultivation and finally decided to start producing organically. The combination of compost, a motivated team and the dry climate of Colima province results in perfect green and sour limes.

The orchard and the farm facilities are fully organic and the staff works under strict rules. The personnel are professionally trained to produce premium organic quality fruit. Trained and highly motivated employees are a good combination for a healthy company.

The ground water wells and the vegetation in and around the orchards attract a large variety of birds that makes the dry area colourful and pretty.

Javier Moreno is one the most important employers in the area.  He was able to build a successful company in the area and consequently  wanted to give something back to the community. The village needed housing for an orphanage, and that was the first motivation to start working on social responsibility and community life. There is now an orphanage house at the site and a health program for employees and relatives.

Today he has 240 ha of organic Persian Limes under cultivation. He exports the fresh product to Europe and the United States

Interview

Pragor

N&M: What motivated you to convert to organic farming? 
Gustavo: My father used to produce melon, cucumber and cotton in the ‘Valle de Apatzingán’ here in Michoacán.  In his time it was very common to use light flying machines to spray the orchards and the fields with insecticides and pesticides.  Can you imagine the quantity of chemicals my father, as well as the other people working around, inhalated during work? This production form caused major damage to the people and the soil in the area. My father died of lung cancer, probably caused by the inhalation of agricultural chemicals.  At the same time, in 1994, the University of Uruapan started with ‘manejo organico’ (organic production). Eventually, my family and I realised the danger of the insecticides being used in the valley and contributed it to our father’s death.  So we decided to participate in a pilot project of organic production and began converting our farm almost 7 years ago. 
 
N&M: What was the most difficult part of the converting period?
Gustavo: In the time we started converting there was little information available about organic agriculture in Mexico. Yet this production method is very intensive and requires experience and knowledge. We didn’t have any idea where to go and especially pest and disease control was a disaster.  We had neither any knowledge about post harvest handling nor information about the organic market.  It was all totally new for us and, as you can imagine, not easy at all. 
 
N&M: What did you learn during your conversion period?
Gustavo: To trust in the wisdom of nature.  For me it is very important to understand the balance between the plant health and its production capacity.  I respect this delicate balance of nature to produce abundantly in a self-sustaining manner.  Nature does not pollute or destroy the earth, so we try to follow this principle.  I enjoy watching my children at play and my family at work in a clean environment.   One of the first organic producers in the area was working in his orchard that is surrounded by native forest: one morning he discovered many locust / grasshoppers in his trees.  He really felt threatened as in organic production you are not allowed to use any insecticides.  He went home and started to organize family and friends who could help him to pick the insects off the trees - one by one.  This went on for hours, until they realised that the orchards were full of yellow birds that he had not seen before.  They fed on the grasshoppers and took care of the problem.  This, to me, is a good example of the balance of nature.

N&M: What was the motivation to create the cooperative Pragor?
Gustavo: A group of 19 organic avocado growers in the region, who knew each other from selling to the same packing station, started investigating the advantages of working as a grower cooperation and with Fair Trade certification.
In the first case it was important to create confidence within the group.  As a founding member, I was very closely involved in convincing the people of the advantages of exporting the product as a group.  As small scale growers, we have little choice but to work together, if we want to access international markets.  Improving the quality of our product was also very important to us.  On the one hand, the cooperative’s goal is to produce, market and distribute the organic avocados of its members.  On the other hand, we also want to go further and promote organic agriculture in the area.  Sharing our experiences with each other, we were able to increase our product quality which provided us with access to international markets.  As a consequence of this we were able to achieve higher prices, which meant that we gradually could improve the working conditions in the orchards and ultimately the living conditions for our families and workers.  This too, is some kind of a balancing act. 

Javier Moreno

N&M: What made you decide to change from conventional to organic?
Javier: I am concerned about the natural environment and the impact it has on our personal lives. But also for future generations; our children and grandchildren have the same right to enjoy the beauty of this planet. We need to work on the awareness of the importance of our natural environment. Therefore I want to assume my responsibility by stabilising and improving the environmental conditions in our village. I believe that living conditions will improve in response to our more stabilised natural environment.

By using organic cultivation practices, we want to maintain, protect, and improve the condition of our natural resources and at the same time obtain the best possible quality of fruit in order to provide vital, healthy products to our customers.

 N&M: What are the challenges of organic production?
Javier: We are constantly trying to improve our agricultural practices. As technical support is not always readily available here in Mexico, we are keen on sharing information with other lime growers around the world. This is really inspiring and very good for our learning.

We did investigate the impact of organic methods on the environment. Based on what we found, we collaborated with the University of Colima to experiment with using organic limejuice as organic fertilizer. Also with the purpose to further improve the productivity and the conditions of the soil and the crop.

N&M: What does organic production mean to your employees?
Javier: We are motivated not only by protecting the environment but also by offering a healthier life to families, employees, neighbours and the next generation.

We have set up a hospital for families and relatives and the orphanage at the site.

Social responsibility is our commitment to the improvement of the living conditions of our community and the people around us.