Rico Farms
A family farm, Rico Farms is run by the Tapia family. Francisco Tapia, Sr., is an engineer by trade, and his son Francisco Tapia, Jr., has been educated stateside where he gained a degree in Industrial Process and Systems Engineering. That’s a lot of technical savvy for a farming family.
The farm is situated inland from the Sea of Cortez near Hermosillo. The Tapia family’s lands cover over 4,000 acres and more than 90% of this land has been set aside as a wildlife preserve. The production area is surrounded by this wilderness on three sides, which reduces the chance of pests or diseases affecting crops- great natural protection for an organic farm!
Francisco Sr. began farming organically 30 years ago, starting with grapes, and then expanding to other crops including many types of squash, both summer and winter varieties, and melons too.
Realizing that he needed to look after his labour force who come from the surrounding communities, and at our urging over several years, Francisco recently got certified Fairtrade. During harvest season, Rico Farms accommodates up to 400 farm workers.
Discovery has maintained a solid relationship with Francisco Tapia since 2007.
Francisco Tapia runs Rico Farms which grows some of the zucchini, squash, cucumber, beans, eggplant that we bring into Canada. This video presents the “on – farm” program solely education based that he implemented.
Website
Crops
Winter Squash (Acorn, Delicata, Butternut, Kabocha, Spaghetti), Cucumbers, Zucchini, Melons (Honeydew, Sangria, Galia), Watermelons
Location
Hermosillo, Mexico
Certification
BioAgriCert – Fair Trade USA