The UN honors young Argentines seeking to transform the food price chain
Miguel and Mónica got up so early that the sun hadn't yet peeked out over their six-hectare farm in Maipú, Mendoza. Eager to see the apricot harvest come to fruition, they walked with triumphant steps in search of…
Published in Clarín on September 22, 2021
Miguel and Mónica got up so early that the sun hadn't yet peeked out over their six-hectare farm in Maipú, Mendoza. Eager to see the apricot harvest come to fruition, they walked with triumphant steps in search of the ripe fruit after a year of work. However, that last stage of production was always the hardest battle, because it foreshadowed another disappointment: the bitterness of November when it was time to sell the produce.
Miguel and Mónica's hard-working hands would receive no more than $2 pesos of the $20 per kilo the fruit sold for in markets, under the usual sale signs. “Does this return justify a year of effort in the field?” they wondered, distressed.
Through hard work they overcame obstacles: from water shortages due to the water crisis, two years of frost with no harvest and their tractor breaking down, to waiting two decades for the orange fruit to appear. And all to earn an income that bears no relation to the final price.
Mendoza. Miguel working his land. He is the father of Fernanda Bonesso, the founder of Agrojusto, who was honored by the UN.
This is one of the many stories of small farming families in the region, who account for 70% of the products consumed and 40% of GDP, yet receive only 25% of what the consumer pays.
Fernanda Bonesso (34) is Miguel and Mónica's daughter. With her economist's eye, she decided to put the food system to the test and looked for a solution to this unsustainable market.
So, at the end of 2018, she recruited young talent from different professional fields: Nelson Pérez, Ignacio Lemmo and Matías Lambrese. Together they built Agrojusto, a marketing platform that “connects the players in the chain in a direct, fair and efficient way.” The idea: to reduce the cost of intermediaries.
Fernanda, CEO of Agrojusto, with women smallholder producers who use the platform.
“The app has been running since May. We already have more than a thousand users with online stores, from producers to retailers,” explained Fernanda, CEO of the startup that runs on a monthly subscription. “We will transform Latin America's food market,” she said.
To boost their businesses and help them build more equitable livelihoods, they support producers with webinars and training sessions.
Agrojusto, a Mendoza-based startup seeking to change the food system, was honored by the United Nations.
“Agrojusto also does good for the environment, by producing more sustainably; for society and for the economic sector, because small farmers and intermediaries receive very little of the final price,” said Julieta Porta, who works on the platform's business model.
It's rewarding, they said, to see producers “empowered” as they meet their needs. And as if that weren't enough, years of work were crowned with recognition from the United Nations, which named them one of the “50 best small businesses in the world.”
They were chosen from among 2,000 companies from 135 countries. They were the only Argentine SME and received their mention at the UN Food Systems Summit 2021, held this Thursday, September 23, in New York, United States.
AWARDED. Agrojusto was recognized by the United Nations, chosen from among 2,000 companies.
In this food revolution, they are an example for other SMEs. “There is a widespread effort to move beyond a long history of individualism and competition. We're understanding that we need to rebuild the fabric of community. We all want to live and work with dignity,” said Daniel Cacciutto, a member of the cooperative Más Cerca es más Justo.
To change the way we consume and produce, they said, there are 9 harvests left: 9 years. “We know that to transform this food market we have to do it together,” Fernanda stated.
Now Miguel Ángel and Mónica have started selling their produce through the new digital channel and are in touch with a community. They have hope for the transformation. And so do the other producers.