Finca Chico

Francisco Rojas Camacho (Chico) has filled every inch of his almost five-hectare farm with crops. Alongside coffee, Chico grows avocado, onion, beans, maize, and other vegetables for the local markets. The crops are kept separate where necessary, as they can need different fertilisers and inputs, not all of which are beneficial to coffee. One of the biggest challenges for Chico over the last two years has been the rapid and steep increase in the costs of fertilizers and soil nutrition. Even organic compost, which is usually plentiful, has been difficult to find. There is high demand across all agricultural products. In reaction to the increase in costs, the local cooperative has been distributing a micro-organism enriched product which has beneficial fungi. This fungi helps the plants increase their uptake of nutrients from the soil and strengthens their defences against disease. In addition to the help from the co-op, the Instituto del Café de Costa Rica (ICAFE) helps all coffee producers with soil analysis and fertilisation plans. This support is offered at no charge and is based on years of expertise and research conducted by ICAFE. The analysis helps reduce farm costs as any deficiencies can be addressed singularly and precisely, in comparison to using expensive multi-part inputs. Chico has four varietals planted on his farm: Red Catuaí, Yellow Catuaí, Catigua, and H15. All the seedlings have been grown by Chico at his coffee nursery. In the next few years, he plans to increase the size of the nursery to have enough seedlings to sell in the local market, further diversifying the farm’s income.