Today, we visited Francini’s family-owned farm that produces bananas, honey, peppercorn, sugar cane, and a wide variety of other crops. Although her farm was likely the smallest we visited, it still had the character and diversity that rivaled the more commercialized plantations here in Costa Rica. Located again in the lowlands of Sarapiquí, this farm faced a lot of similar challenges to yesterday’s piña plantation, including those of agrotourism. As we experienced today, we were notified of an earlier departure time to get to the farm due to the main interstate receiving too much rain. This challenge can be a barrier that faces many farmers who want to enter the tourism industry. These rains scare away larger crowds from visiting agricultural points of interest that are out of the way of the main cities or beaches. Another barrier regarding these farms’ business or economic standpoints includes the high start-up costs combined with low savings and the fright around loans. As Francini explained today, she has to build her house incrementally because she does not want to take out a loan or partner with a bank to finance her projects. Also, the agricultural land needed to expand her farm as a business is very expensive, requiring generational savings to obtain enough land to accommodate the growth of a family-owned farm to a wholesale distributor.
The community around Francini and other Costa Rican farmers can be very supportive. Firstly, we see how Francini partnered with a surrounding farmer to expand her agricultural tour and showcase other crops like peppercorn, coconuts, and vanilla. This collaboration can mutually benefit both farmers and bring larger profits. Also, the sharing of resources and wisdom is one of the biggest benefits of being a part of a Costa Rican farming community. The knowledge from every guide on these tours throughout my time here has been incredibly deep and almost completely exhaustive of their respective specializations. This wisdom is used to educate foreign and local students alike as well as other farmers who are interested in expanding their farms and plantations. Even Francini benefitted from a fellow farmer informing her that her male papaya tree could actually grow fruits by slashing or stressing the tree.
Each crop we learned about today had a unique growing and harvesting process. For example, the vanilla plants need to be pollinated by hand, one by one, whereas the star apple trees do not need any intervention as the bees will do all the pollination. Furthermore, each crop had a different harvest and ripe period and some crops like cacao also needed further processing and production steps to make the cacao powder whereas fruits like banana and papaya are ready to eat just as they are. Ultimately, every plant and product follows its own growing schedule and harvesting procedure.
