Agrofresco – Eco Campos

Agrofresco is a collective of farming ranches in Dolores Hidalgo, in the state of Guanajuato in Central Mexico and near San Miguel de Allende, north of Mexico City. Gustavo Gaya and his field engineers have been farming multiple ranches for the past 8 years working closely with Discovery Organics, but also organic giants like Earthbound and Taylor Farms. Associations with larger companies like this ensure that very stringent quality control standards are applied and only the most beautiful vegetables are harvested and packed. Working together, Discovery Organics and the folks at the Agrofresco ranches are promoting their harvested crops as Eco Campos up here in Canada.

Gustavo contracts his own crews from nearby indigenous communities and provides them with safe transport to and from the ranches, and pays workers more than minimum wage. Additionally, there are plans to complete their Fairtrade certification, which would be a first for several of their commodities. There are currently ~380 people working on the farm, with two-thirds being men and one-third women.

Flower beds are planted between rows of crops, which is a fantastic strategy to control agricultural pests without having to resort to chemical inputs. Irrigation is delivered via drip-irrigation and water comes from one of their 3 wells. Large amounts of land are set aside as buffer zones to preserve the local ecosystem in and around each ranch.

Crops

Artichokes, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Kale, Lettuce

Location

Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Mexico

Certification

CCOF