At UCHU, we believe that producing a great product starts with supporting everyone involved in our operations, especially our network of farmers who lay the foundation for our entire process. To do so, we are committed to offering a comprehensive range of agricultural and technical training to support our smallholder farmer network. Our experienced agricultural team provides personalized visits and ongoing support to help farmers adopt Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).

Today, we are joined by Neil, who leads our agricultural team in Peru. Neil will share insights into the essence of GAP and highlight some of the effective practices we employ at UCHU to ensure sustainable and high-quality agricultural production.

Understanding Good Agricultural Practices

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) encompasses a set of principles that farmers can implement to produce safe and healthy food in an environmentally friendly manner. These practices focus on efficient water use, minimizing harmful chemicals, and ensuring safe crop handling to prevent contamination.

The adoption of GAP is crucial not only for food safety but also for reducing environmental impact and enhancing the sustainability of agriculture—ensuring our ability to cultivate food for future generations.

Techniques We Use at UCHU

To illustrate how we implement GAP, let’s explore some of the effective techniques we employ at UCHU.

Companion Planting and Crop Rotation:

Companion planting involves growing different plants together so they benefit from each other's presence, enhancing growth and protecting against pests. Crop rotation, on the other hand, implies planting other crops between growing cycles of the main product grown. As an example, growing beans before chilies can leverage several benefits:

Nitrogen Fixation: Beans, being legumes, convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form that other plants can readily absorb. This enriches the soil with nitrogen, providing essential nutrients for the chilli crops that follow.
Soil Structure Improvement: The growth of bean plants also helps to loosen and aerate the soil. This improvement in soil structure enhances water infiltration and root penetration, particularly beneficial for the chilli plants grown afterward.
Readymade Compost: Instead of removing the mature bean plants, they are chopped down and mixed into the soil. This creates organic material that enriches the soil and makes it more fertile for the next crop of chillies.

A famous example of companion growing is the famous "Three Sisters" technique used by Indigenous peoples of the Americas; in which corn, beans, and squash are planted together. The beans climb the corn stalks, fix nitrogen in the soil, and the squash covers the ground to suppress weeds and conserve moisture.

Utilizing Seedlings Over Seeds:

In our chilli cultivation, switching to seedlings reduced water usage by up to 2,000 cubic meters per hectare, making our irrigation practices more efficient and sustainable. Using seedlings instead of seeds has several other advantages:

Faster Harvest: The field will be ready to pick much faster, as a part of the plant's life cycle is covered separately.
Enhanced Success Rates: Seedlings are less prone to risks associated with seed germination such as pests and incorrect planting depth.
Effective Weed Management: More developed seedlings compete better with weeds, reducing the need for chemical weed control.

Enhancing Soil Health

In addition to strategic planting methods, we also focus on soil preparation, instead of extensive agrochemical application.

Soil Preparation: Soil preparation is a key agricultural practice that greatly impacts crop success. It involves using either machinery or draft animals to improve the soil's structure, making it easier to irrigate and more conducive to plant growth. This process also includes removing rocks and adding organic matter to the soil. In Peru, especially along the coast, soil preparation is a common activity for farmers, contributing to the overall productivity and health of their fields.
Incorporating Organic Matter: Incorporating organic matter into agricultural soils is crucial due to its significant improvement of the soil's physical, chemical, and biological properties. By enhancing the soil's physical structure, organic matter helps retain and distribute water more efficiently, promoting optimal conditions for plant roots to grow. The humic substances provided by organic matter also improve nutrient availability in the soil, further supporting plant health. Additionally, organic matter increases the diversity and activity of beneficial microorganisms, contributing to a more robust and fertile soil ecosystem.

Training Farmers for Sustainability

To ensure the effective implementation of these practices, we provide extensive training to our farmers. These training sessions cover various topics such as cultivation techniques, pest management, efficient water use, and soil conservation. Key areas of focus include crop management and the principles of Good Agricultural Practices. Additionally, farmers learn responsible agricultural practices that protect the environment, ensure health and safety, and increase the profitability of their crops.