Guillermo Jacoby Salazar

2010 LiderES Prize Winner for Environmental and Social Impact

Ostuma Farms at a glance

• Industry:Agricultural Production
  
• Company:Ostuma Farms
  
• Impact areas:Social, Environmental
  
• Consulting focus:
  

Guillermo Jacoby Salazar founded the 40-hectare Ostuma Farms over ten years ago. Since then, the company vertically consolidated itself in the domestic market and developed expertise in marketing its agricultural products. After significant research, development and investment, the company significantly enhanced technology in its production processes. For the past eight years, Ostuma Farms boosted productivity to lead the market in this category, with about 45 tons of output per hectare per year.

Currently, Ostuma Farms produces a wide variety of vegetables such as celery, broccoli, cabbage, zuccini, parsley, and pumpkins. But Ostuma Farms' focus on gourmet lettuce helps alleviate a market disequilibrium and has proven to be one of its most profitable products.

Shortly after its founding, Ostuma Farms became a Protected Area and signed an agreement with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. There is an deeply rooted culture of environmental protection of its flora and fauna.

Ostuma Farms has many eco-friendly operational procedures, including the development and management of contour lines, live barriers, dead barriers, and the watershed. It also uses fertilizers and pesticides that do not pollute the environment.

Additionally, water harvesting allows families in the communities of Rica Falda and La Galera to improve their water reservoir. Ostuma Farms also allows trucks and select materials on mine access roads between the property and the municipality, so that the municipality can construct a highway infrastructure to connect the surrounding communities. A total of 237 families will directly benefit from this highway.

To maintain leadership in the industry, Ostuma Farms is implementing the Good Agricultural Practices and Traceability code. Ostuma Farms is the first in the country to guarantee consumer health by ensuring the traceability of all produce throughout entire life cycles.

A key success factor for the company is human resources. The company is constantly developing employee and partner capabilities, and forging new partnerships with educational institutions in the private and public sectors to achieve its mission and objectives.