News

11th November 2020

Sustainable juice production in Guatemala

Sustainability 

Popoyán Modern Agriculture Model: A Proven Sustainable Approach for Creating Prosperity for Rural Communities in Guatemala 

Popoyán´s theory of change is centered round developing high productivity and resilient projects, which integrate the agricultural value chain under a cluster solutions model. With it, Popoyán connects our high-performance production model to high-value markets generating prosperity for all those participating in the value chain. These projects have been a means for positive impact towards the stability of the regional food supply, while also generating sustainable employment and prosperity for the surrounding communities with which good relations have been sustained since the beginning of operations. Within Popoyán’s theory of change, agroindustry plays a key role to scale up production and accelerate shared value implementation.

Popoyán has different business units that provide solutions for every step of the agricultural process – nursery, ag-inputs distribution, biological solutions that act as an alternative way to manage plant pests and diseases, commercialization of fruits and vegetables, centers for research and technology transfer, production farms, processing plants for fruit juice and purée. Our shared value accelerator projects represent our efforts to accelerate the achievement of our long-term goals to create value for the organization, its workers, and the smallholder farmers and the communities who are our partners. Through our model, we can reach prosperity in communities within an average of three to four years what otherwise could be accomplished in ten years.

This shared value business model is private-led and integrates social-economic results as part of the core business at par with financial, operational, and market goals. It is divided into two pillars; the first one in our farms, where we produce MD2-pineapple, papaya, avocado, tomatoes, bell peppers, and a variety of berries for the international and local fresh markets. Farms integrate solutions to social needs through new business using technical expertise, knowledge, and a culture of innovation.

Popoyan works with employees and their families to improve health and education and implement sustainable operations wherever we work with more than 7,000 people directly benefitting. Our collaborators’ growth is fundamental to shared success and our programs cooperate with our workers to build adequate housing, earn educational degrees, allow access to preventive healthcare and other services.

Part of the long-term strategy to increase the development effect towards more people in Guatemalan communities surrounding our farms is to increase the scalability of our operations to generate more employment and a more sustainable impact. Agricultural industrialization was the approach that Popoyán took to achieve growth in the production area, and through its Tukan Foods business unit has invested in a processing plant for MD2 pineapple, papaya, mango, and passion fruit, in organic and baby food qualities to access high-value markets around the world.

The second pillar is being implemented in the most vulnerable communities of Guatemala, where most of the smallholder farmers are located. Smallholder farmers represent an important market segment for the ag-input distribution business unit of Popoyán, and our Shared Value strategy invests in the development of the smallholder farmers to increase their yields and improve the quality of the different fresh produce that is sold in markets increasing their value. Popoyán is replicating its lessons learned from the first pillar scaling them to be applicable by the smallholder farmer of Guatemala.

With private funds alone, our approach can reach a limited number of people in time, however, by partnering with different foreign cooperation counterparts to create public-private partnerships we can scale-up and accelerate our shared value. In the last seven years, we have been able to expand our reach to more than 50,000 people and their families benefiting directly. Our public-private partnerships have been a first of its kind and aim to reduce poverty and chronic malnutrition in Guatemala through an innovative and validated approach using economic corridors that strategically align market opportunities with existing and potential production, logistic routes, climates, altitudes, micro, and macro watersheds and address the vulnerability of chronic malnutrition.

Popoyán has invested in four Centers for Rural Technological Development, that strategically connect economic corridors and serve as technology transfer centers for different agriculture technologies. These centers will also serve as collection centers for consolidating produce delivered from vulnerable areas and will include processing facilities for different crops that have demand in the juicing industry, to reach the desired impact in rural communities.

Prosperous communities include not only people’s well-being but also the conservation of the surrounding natural reserves and wildlife. Our integral approach towards rural development takes into consideration the preservation of the environment as a transversal axis among all of our projects. In both implementation strategies of our shared value, we use environmentally friendly production methods, conservation of unexploited jungle and wildlife, watershed management, and efficient and sustainable use of resources. This involves not only the physical work being done but also encouraging behavior change among the inhabitants of the communities using continuous education and knowledge transfer to move towards a more sustainable country. Popoyán dedicates 50% of its territory as a natural reserve, crop management technology has allowed to increase production yields, to produce more in the same amount of land available.

Agricultural industrialization, specifically for juice, pulp, and purée processes has allowed Popoyán to access and diversify to markets around the world. This was the next logical step that Popoyán needed to take as a company to scale up production and create more employment. Popoyán´s agroindustry, combined with the fresh produce production operations made it possible to increase positive impact in the most needed areas of Guatemala.

 

By Caroline Calder Features Share: