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Daniel Silva and Fabian Robles

BioCitrus Chile

Hi, I'm Daniel Silva and I grow organic lemons and avocados in Chile. Together with my colleague Fabian Robles we founded BioCitrus Chile. I focus on the orchard while Fabian takes care of the export. Our lemon orchards are approximately a two hour drive south of Santiago, near the village of Coinco.

Our orchards lie at an altitude of 300 to 400 metres. The clayey soil is very fertile and thanks to the dry and warm climate, conditions for organic fruit cultivation are ideal. We even have two harvest seasons for the lemons: summer fruit from October to March and winter fruit from May till September. We can control this through pruning. Already in 1998 when I was in college, I choose to specialize in organic agriculture. Since then I have always grown organic avocado's and since 2008 I have focussed on lemon cultivation. We have converted this orchard to organic starting in 2011 and we are nowadays fully organically certified. We are among the first growers in Chili to export organic lemons! Unfortunately there is not much organic cultivation in this region, the 6th district. The use of chemicals is a serious problem, too many children are born with malformations. With organic agriculture we offer an alternative. Many local people are eager to work for us, because we are the only ones who are not using chemicals.

Interview with Daniel Silva en Fabian Robles

Fabian, as a fruit trader, how did you get involved in organic cultivation?
"I have been working in the fruit business since 1993, but I started to work with organic products later on. It's a pleasant way of working. The organic sector is much smaller and therefore as a producer, you have a better position: you're less disposable. The relations between buyers and sellers are more sustainable."

And how did you become an organic grower, Daniel?
At university I studied organic agriculture, which was still a very new thing in Chile at the time. After my graduation I got a job supervising a large organic avocado farm. Later I acquired my own avocado orchard in the 5th district, near the town of San Felipe. There I work with woofers from all over the word, young people who travel around and work on organic farms. In that way, organic is really a lifestyle."

What do you like most about this job, Fabian?
"I love the dynamics of working with a living product. Nature is always mutable, the market changes, every year the situation is different than the year before. That gives me adrenaline. It's always stimulating. We know that the harvest starts in May and that the first fruit arrives in June by boat. But apart from that everything is unsure until the last moment; and that makes it really interesting."

Daniel, in 2008 you started to grow organic citrus. How did it work out?
"In 2008 we were able to start growing on this location. These hills were developed 12 years ago, and irrigation was put in place. Before that it was a natural hill with all kinds of thorny bushes. When we started converting to organic, it had been managed pesticide-free for at least 4 year. Nevertheless the beginning was hard, we were troubled by plagues. Now the natural balance is better and we're doing well. With the help of Nature & More we have deleloped a new part of the hill for organic lemon production."

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soil

The soil is clayey. This provides a lot of nutrition, but also a dense structure. The trees are therefore placed on ridges of soil; this helps to keep the soil aerated. Daniel also demonstrates his fertilizing tactics: in a small pool he makes "compost tea", adding cow and goat manure to the mix. The "tea" is fed to the trees through drip irrigation and provides them with nutrition and useful micro-bacterial life. Once every three years Daniel also applies solid compost.

biodiversity

The wild plants in and around the orchard draw a lot of insects and birds. Daniel turns out to be a bit of an ornithologist: "We see lots of birds here: partridges, swallows, nightingales, the Chilean mocking bird, the "diuca" finch, sparrows, the Chilean lapwing, and many more." There are plenty of bees and butterflies, but unfortunately there are the "chanchito blanco", the "conchuela" and "escama". In fighting these plague insects, Daniel gets help from "fito sedidos" and small ichneumon wasps.

Daniel is adamant about it: "We love weeds! Weeds are very important to us, because they attract beneficial insects. We have to cut the weeds for our employees to work, but otherwise I wouldn't mow them at all. In conventional orchards the soil is usually bare, because the grower feel that the weeds compete with the trees. But in fact the green cover prevents erosion, improves water holding capacity and reduces plagues too."
Daniel is planning to plant lupin and oats in between the trees next year: lupin fixes nitrogen in the soil and the oats improve soil structure.

individual

For thousands of years people have been aware of the many health benefits of lemons. Lemons are a great source of calcium, vitamin C, magnesium and potassium - minerals and antioxidants that improve the appearance and condition of our hair, skin and nails.

Every year 20.000 to 340.000 farmworkers die of pesticide poisoning and 1 to 5 million farmworkers get sick from it. In organic cultivation no chemical-synthetic pesticides are used and significantly less pesticide residues are found on organic products in the store. Research indicates (Fantke & Jolliet, 2016) that this also has a health effect for consumers. In short, we can say with confidence that organic fruits and vegetables, on the average, are healthier. And that also goes for our organic lemons.

society

As organic producers, Daniel and Fabian have an exemplary role. Daniel has worked as a university teacher in the past and is now teaching organic agriculture to his five employees. At his avocado farm in Catemo he works with woofers, whom he also teaches. Cultural traditions are maintained as well. On the first of May, 18th of September and at Christmas, Daniel throws a party with a big barbecue for his workers.

The employees of Daniel and Fabian enjoy their work in the orchard, which results in a low turnover rate. Daniel: "Our orchard is very important for the local economy. People come to me all the time, asking for work. They like that we don't work with chemicals." The terms of employment are in accordance with Chilean law, which is more strict than most South-American countries . There is a minimum wage and working hours are tied to a maximum.

Equal treatment of the sexes is one of the elements of societal justice. Daniel has five fixed employees, 3 men and 2 women. During harvest he employs another 50 workers, 30 of whom are women. Daniel: "I like to work with women because they often taken on more responsibility and function as a mother of the workplace." Safety at work is a focus point. Daniel: "The use of agro-chemicals is a big issue in this part of Chile. Recently a television report pointed out that a disproportionately high number of children is born malformed. They were linking this to the use of pesticides. Unfortunately organic farming is still very small."

climate

The main energy expenditure is for pumping the irrigation water from the river up the hill. However the pumps are powered with electricity from the grid, which is 70% renewable hydro-electricity. Of course artificial fertilizer and pesticides aren't used, saving fossil fuel . The fruit is shipped to Europa right after harvest, thereby avoiding energy expenses for storage. Daniel estimates that his total energy expenditure will be a bit lower than that of a conventional grower.

The use of fossil fuel is limited to the use of the tractor and transport to Europe by boat. The green ground cover will result in better carbon sequestration . Daniel tells us that the clippings from trees are put in a water gully, in order to attract animals and insects. The decomposing plants leach nutrients in the gully water which in turn is used for irrigation. Daniel: "In conventional cultivation the clippings are usually burnt. Our approach will cause less emissions. " All in all the greenhouse gas emissions will be less than in conventional farming.

water

Water comes from the Cachapoal river and is led to the area with a small channel. It is pumped up the hill with electric pumps; then it is applied through drip irrigation. Thanks to the green ground cover less water is needed than in a conventional orchard.

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