Our Farmers
The Rust Trust Project
The Fight Against Leaf Rust From Jim Rogers
I had the honor to start the Rust Trust project in Mexico on 2014 after the Rust hit LATAM region on 2011, 12 and 13. Damage on plantations was up to 50% of the production. The best help the farmers could get at that point was to work in renovating plantations to improve their productivity. The Rogers Charitable foundation started purchasing plants to give away to the farmers we identify in our program.
Credit: Carvalho et al., CC
I had the honor to start the Rust Trust project in Mexico on 2014 after the Rust hit LATAM region on 2011, 12 and 13.. damage on plantation was up to 50% of the production, the best help the farmers could get at that point was to work in renovating plantations to improve their productivity. The Rogers Charitable found started purchasing plants to give away to the farmers we identify in our program.
Credit: Carvalho et al., CC
To do this we create a two year assistance program package to teach the farmers how to take care properly of the new plants and guarantee that those plants grow and become productive (so we don’t waste our money and time). We hired one agronomist to work with the small farmers communities to give technical assistance and mainly to make sure that plants that we donated will be properly taken care of by the farmers and achieve e to grow and produce. Originally the plants were produced by our farms in Mexico (Fincas Familia Rogers and we also purchase plants from other farmers).
The model was successful and Rogers Charitable Found adopted it to be replicated in more countries, this is one of the best models I have seen to impact in farmers quality life. Ignacio Macedo directs and administrates the program for the different countries with help of the local AG team.
Ignacio Macedo is responsible of administrating this project for all the countries where we operate with help of the local Ag team. Rust Trust funds come normally from Rogers Charitable Found.
In Nicaragua de local AG manager is Felix Altamirano. I understand that one Cooperatives of the program in Nicaragua harvested the coffee from the coffee trees donated on the program and they are expLoring that coffee separated as Rust Trust Coffee, which I think is very cool.