The Challenge:

Hurricane Maria destroyed an estimated 80% of existing crops in Puerto Rico, which exacerbated the island’s extreme and risky dependence on imported foods. Other events such as the earthquakes and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 have highlighted the pivotal role of sustainable agriculture as a means to attain the resiliency in our communities. Bolstering the island’s agriculture sector and promoting resilient and sustainable local food production, and access to safe, potable water, is essential as communities become stronger.. Adequate funding for nutrition assistance programs is also needed to ensure access to nutritious food and better health outcomes.

How is Hispanic Federation Helping?

Hispanic Federation (HF) is providing critical resources to local smallholder farmers and fishermen as they rebuild a stronger agriculture and fishing sector and improve food security on the island with training and capacity building, stipends, innovative technology, seeds, and more, all in an effort to support the workers, families and communities that crucially depend on it. Hispanic Federation also participates in multisector task forces and advocates for resources and policy to strengthen the agriculture sector and food security overall. It also facilitates other resources to smallholder farmers and key stakeholders in the field, such as information on external funding and capacity building webinars.

Who Are We Helping?

Coffee Sector Revitalization Initiative (Island-wide)

In October 2018, HF, together with the Miranda Family and founding partners  Nespresso, The Rockefeller Foundation, Starbucks Foundation, TechnoServe, and World Coffee Research, launched this multi-year initiative to support smallholder coffee farmers on the island and to rebuild and revitalize Puerto Rico’s coffee industry. The initiative aims to increase the long-term resilience and economic performance of the sector by bringing together a holistic support model. This model includes: (1) diversifying and improving the quality of local coffee seed material, (2) rebuilding capacity in local nurseries by distributing 2.2 million coffee seedlings to coffee growers in the island, (3) training in best-in-field, climate-smart agronomic and business practices for 1500 smallholder farmers to elevate the production and quality of the local sector, and (4) establishing a network and market opportunities for farmers. The initiative also supports the coordination of the PR Coffee Task.

Acción Valerosa (Ciales)

Acción Valerosa is nonprofit organization that was born after the hit of Hurricane Maria. Among their services, they have been working on an agriculture project with the vocational program of the Toribio Rivera elementary school in the Frontón neighborhood, in Ciales. HF funding is enabling the use of school lands to bring them to their maximum production capacity, the installation of a stable and a reliable pumping and irrigation system, and the incorporation of poultry farming through the configuration of a henhouse to produce eggs. This project integrates the entire local community, as it will be the custodian and main beneficiary, and promotes alternative food sources in case of an emergency or disaster. HF also supported the organization through emergency funds to help sustain operations through the COVID-19 emergency.

Centro Microempresas y Tecnologías Agrícolas Sustentables- CMTAS (Yauco)

A 70-acre education center for agricultural microenterprises, CMTAS supports local communities and farmers through sustainable technology. HF funding helped the Center restore pathways, it’s teaching building, and livestock so that it could reopen its school. The funding also allowed CMTAS to construct a solarized well to provide the Quebradas community in Yauco and those in surrounding areas with clean water in the event of another disaster. HF funds also helped install a pilot anaerobic biodigester, which helps manage organic waste and transform it into organic fertilizer and biogas for alternative renewable energy. Further funding will be allocated to help CMTAS continue developing their farm through the construction of an additional water well and hydroponic system, the construction of two new structures to offer educational activities, and the preparation of a camping area, among others.  Additional emergency funds to CMTAS have been awarded to provide furniture and appliances to over 50 small farmers and their families who lost all or part of their homes; facilitate food and emergency supplies distribution to communities impacted by the earthquakes; and organizational support to continue operations during the COVID-19 emergency. CMTAS won second place in the Big Ideas Challenge, sponsored by Hispanic Federation and Fundación Banco Popular, and expanded their anerobic biodigestor pilot to two more communities in Guanica and Mayaguez. CMTAS vision is to develop an agro-tourism social enterprise that will help sustain these and other projects.

Acción Social de Puerto Rico, Inc. ASPRI (Río Grande) 

ASPRI runs a community agriculture-training program which trains 240 participants annually for cutting-edge careers in hydroponics. HF funds were used to rehabilitate its Río Grande agricultural service center and rebuild their hydroponic greenhouse, which was damaged by María. HF support was crucial in restoring ASPRI’s training center and readying the facility to enroll a new cohort.

Para la Naturaleza (Las Marías and Ciales)

With support from HF, Para la Naturaleza provided microgrants to eight local farmers to restart crop production and re-engage with local farmers markets and the agroecological economy, including direct produce distribution to restaurants.

The Americas for Conservation + the Arts and El Departamento de la Comida (Island-wide)

The Hispanic Federation supported the Guagua Solidaria (Solidarity bus), which transported work brigades of volunteers and agricultural supplies to help 100 small farmers throughout the island. They spent an average of three days clearing land, rebuilding farming structures, providing seeds for crops, and installing sustainable technology. The brigades brought much-needed support after Maria to overwhelmed farmers, and in the process promoted self-sufficiency and food sovereignty. Its work was featured in Vogue magazine.

Armonia en la Montaña (Aibonito and Arroyo)

HF funds allowed Armonía en la Montaña to rehabilitate and enhance two nonprofit agroecological farms in Aibonito and Arroyo. In doing so, Armonía was been able to expand its educational and community services programs, improve coordination of farmer to farmer volunteer work brigades, support the distribution of locally grown produce by developing a community market and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, and conducta pilot study to grow and produce local artisanal textiles such as cotton and maguey. Through a second grant, Armonía en la Montaña is working on the establishment of a Farm Hub in Aibonito to connect the gap between economic sustainability for small sustainable farmers and the current buying power of their underserved, rural community in Aibonito. Their goal is to  to produce clean healthy food and value-added products from their programs Siembra Tres Vidas and Trama, thus increasing access to locally produced agricultural products and developing new market opportunities for small scale farmer operations.

Seed Relief Puerto Rico (Island-wide) 

The main objective of Seed Relief-PR, a Seeding Relief's project, was to collect donated seeds and provide them to Puerto Rican growers in need, while at the same time increasing the diversity of crops produced in the island for greater food resilience. The donated seeds provided farmers an opportunity to restart their production and try novel fast-growing crops, without an initial investment of seeds, which can be costly. HF shipped a 10,000 lb. pallet of flower, vegetable and tree seeds for replanting and reforestation efforts. These donated seeds were distributed by the University of Puerto Rico to agriculturalists and farmers throughout the island.

La Colmena Cimarrona (Vieques)

La Colmena Cimarrona has been dedicated to agroecological production and training in Vieques for more than four years. HF funding is enabling La Colmena Cimarrona to strengthen an agroecological community farm to provide a network of support and resources. It aims to increase the production of healthy food in Vieques through the construction of a well, the installation of a water collection system and provision of water storage to five selected farms in the island through a new water transport system that can be used in case of emergencies. As a result, La Colmena Cimarrona is supporting the production of food for low-income population, maximize farmers’ production and help supply a minimum of 50 agricultural baskets for families in Vieques.