Agros Blog

After just 8 short months, Agros Mexico’s newest community Santa Fe Ajké has taken off, demonstrating a tremendous amount of work, energy and success. Nearly each family in the community is involved in a group project, using small loans and training provided by Agros to grow diverse crops or start a new business. This month, Agros Mexico staff reports the success of the first major agricultural project in Santa Fe Ajké — tomatoes!

Ten families are involved in the shared tomato project working together to produce as many crates as they can to sell in the local market. Starting from scratch on the new property, the families first cleared the land by hand using machetes, and then built an irrigation system. The group then planted the tomatoes, using techniques shared from both Agros staff and neighbors from nearby communities who have experience growing tomatoes as well.

Despite set backs in failed deliveries of seeds, strong winds and hiccups in the new irrigation system, the families are excited to see the first round produce 90 crates of tomatoes, equivalent to nearly 5,000 pounds!

Now the group is gearing up to finish up the tomato season, projecting to produce 150 more crates. With the sale of 13,320 pounds of tomatoes, the participants will earn approximately $1,240, providing their families with much needed income and seed money for their next economic adventure.

The families in Santa Fe Ajké are encouraged by the success of their first project and are looking forward to incorporating more income-generating activities in order to earn income year-round for their families. With the jalapeño harvest just around the corner, it looks like the enterprising families in Santa Fe Ajké are doing just that-well on their way towards crop diversification, year-round employment and economic self-sufficiency. Congratulations Santa Fe Ajké!