The Promise of Pitahaya
How one company is bringing the global market a little closer to home for Nicaragua’s smallholder fruit farmers
The region surrounding Volcán Masaya in western Nicaragua is dominated by pitahaya. Also known as the “dragon fruit” for its bright colors and dragon-like appearance, pitahaya grows on the branches of a vining cactus native to Central America. It is also one of the few crops that is resilient enough to grow in the variable weather conditions of the Masaya region, which is affected by the sulfur dioxide constantly emitting from Volcán Masaya, Nicaragua’s most active volcano.
For many smallholder farmers in the region, pitahaya is a primary source of income. The annual harvest period typically lasts around six months between May and October. While this allows pitahaya farmers ample time to cultivate and sell their harvest, the challenges of selling in a local market have often made this task difficult and unreliable. Without any other option, these farmers would have to wake up well before sunrise to transport their pitahaya to market, knowing neither how much nor at what price they would be able to sell. Others would have to accept the quantity and price of the local traders that passed through their village.
Despite the hardships that these farmers have experienced historically, pitahaya holds promise. As global demand for pitahaya surged over the past decade, one innovative company has been working to create a better alternative for pitahaya farmers. Sol Organica, S.A. is a certified B-Corporation in Nicaragua that seeks to improve the livelihoods of tropical fruit farmers, particularly pitahaya farmers, while maximizing their agricultural potential and promoting the use of sustainable and organic farming practices. Sol Organica sources, processes, and exports pureed, juiced, and dried tropical fruits, working closely with smallholder farmers to improve agricultural practices, secure organic and fair-trade certifications, and enter into fixed contracts that guarantee the purchase of their crops at prevailing market prices.
Burke Agro de Nicaragua, S.A. is the independent agricultural development branch of Sol Organica, and the main point of contact with smallholder farmers. Burke Agro is made up of a dedicated team of agronomists focused on improving sustainable practices with farmers to ensure quality, productivity, certifications, and a consistent and transparent purchase process. The company offers credit and access to organic inputs to marginalized and emerging farmers in Nicaragua.
Margarita de los Ángeles López Polanco is one of those farmers. A mother of four and grandmother of five, Margarita lives with her family in San José de los Rios de Ticuantepe, a community located on the edge of the Managua department near Volcán Masaya. She and her husband grow pitahaya along with pineapple and lemons, but the vast majority of their land and time is dedicated to pitahaya.
Since her father taught her how to farm at an early age, Margarita has been a pitahaya farmer for her entire life. She remembers accompanying her parents to the local market to sell pitahaya when she was a child.
“I’ve known how to cultivate pitahaya since I was eight years old. It was a way of life for my family.”
Every day, Margarita balances the responsibilities of being a mother and grandmother with her responsibilities as a farmer. Pitahaya is a hardy plant, but it requires careful maintenance and supervision to ensure that the fruit grows properly. During the harvest season, Margarita and her husband make frequent visits to their land to evaluate the pitahaya. They also hire part-time workers to help them maintain the land.
Margarita has been a client of Sol Organica and Burke Agro since 2014 when other farmers in her community told her about the company. With access to a new market closer to home, she saw an opportunity to improve her family’s economic situation. Margarita signed her first contract with Sol Organica soon after, and today her family sells nearly 100% of their pitahaya to the company.
For Margarita, the decision to become a client of Sol Organica was also a decision to become an organic farmer. Previously, she and her husband had used chemical fertilizers and pesticides to grow pitahaya. While some members of her family were initially skeptical of transitioning to organic farming practices, Margarita quickly realized the benefits of working with Sol Organica.
“We used to grow conventional pitahaya using chemicals, but there was not the same demand as we have today. Now we have a strong market with Sol Organica. The inputs they give us on credit each season yield good results, and they pay us a fair price. And I feel good producing organic pitahaya. It’s healthier and natural.”
Sol Organica is one of only a few organizations to connect smallholder fruit farmers in Nicaragua to export markets, one of even fewer to add value to the fruit before export, and the only one to export organic fruit products. Sol Organica’s model boosts the volume of fruits purchased from smallholder farmers throughout Nicaragua; in doing so, the company also increases family incomes and the amount of money that remains in the local economy.
Burke Agro’s agronomists visit Margarita and her family frequently to inspect the pitahaya plants, give suggestions, and train them on the best organic practices to improve their harvest yield. Margarita values these personalized interactions with the company, which she says have improved her knowledge and confidence as a farmer. What she values most about her relationship with Burke Agro, however, is the convenience and the certainty it brings to her family.
“We no longer have to travel far to sell our pitahaya in the market. Burke Agro comes to us and the collection center is right down the street. It’s like we have our own little market in our house.”
Margarita’s relationship with Sol Organica and Burke Agro has had a significant impact on her productivity as a farmer as well as her family’s quality of life. When Margarita first started farming pitahaya on her own, she had less than a quarter of a hectare of land. Now she has three hectares dedicated exclusively to organic pitahaya, and her family rents another small plot of land for pineapple and lemon. In 2018, Margarita’s production reached twelve metric tons of pitahaya, a 20% increase over the previous year. Thanks to her success working with Burke Agro, her family’s income and quality of life have improved.
“Our lives have absolutely improved since beginning with Burke Agro. We produce more pitahaya than before, so we have higher income as a family. We’ve made improvements to the house, we have the medicine we need when someone gets sick, all of the children go to school. We are doing well.”
The future looks bright from Margarita’s perspective. She and her husband are planning on renting another hectare of land to increase their production in the coming harvest season. Both of their sons have their own plots of land now. And thanks to Sol Organica and Burke Agro, they have the promise of good pricing and a stable income.
“We have lifted ourselves up as organic pitahaya farmers. As long as we stay on this path, always organic, we will go further.”
In September 2018, MCE Social Capital made a $200,000 investment in Sol Organica, followed by a second $200,000 investment in February 2019 to increase the company’s production capacity, support the continued growth of the business, and reach more smallholder farmers in Nicaragua. As of December 31, 2018, Sol Organica worked with 862 smallholder farmers, all of whom received technical assistance. The company had 81 permanent employees and 36 temporary employees, 40% of whom were women.
Story and photos by Harrison Pharamond, MCE Impact Analyst and Communications Associate
