Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

Agricultural chains

Short marketing circuits and the digitalization of agricultural trade are promoted in Costa Rica

Tiempo de lectura: 3 mins.

A pilot plan launched by IICA and other organizations is already operating in a Costa Rican community and will be validated for use in two additional locations.

Jale

San Jose, 7 July 2020 (IICA)Jale a la Feria is a new digital platform that seeks to establish a direct connection between agricultural producers and consumers in Costa Rica through the use of technological solutions that facilitate trade in local markets. The app was developed as a way to respond to the changes generated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the National Farmers’ Markets Board, as well as the Social Shot Latam and Sibú Sociedad Civil organizations are collaborating on the initiative.

Jale a la Feria began as a pilot project in the Vázquez de Coronado canton of the province of San Jose, Costa Rica. More than 60 farmers are currently utilizing the platform to market around 80 products.

The goal is to gradually incorporate more farmers until the platform is able to provide the full range of products regularly sold in farmers’ markets.

“This pilot plan is a valuable initiative made possible through public-private collaboration. It has allowed for validating technological innovations that can be replicated in other communities and countries, and that are required to reactivate agricultural trade within the context of the pandemic. The platform has also fostered more direct linkages between producers and consumers”, stated specialist Kenneth Solano of the IICA Delegation in Costa Rica.

Customers who place an order on the platform may request home delivery or pick up the products themselves at the San Martín de Coronado market. In either case, product handling and delivery are carried out in strict compliance with the protocols established by the Ministry of Health to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, protect human health, as well as guarantee food safety and quality.

The working group will be testing the technological tool in the rural communities of Sarapiquí and San Mateo. It is also developing a strategy to scale up the initiative and implement the marketing platform in more regions of Costa Rica.

By offering products sold in several farmers’ markets, Jale a la Feria is expected to become a permanent marketing mechanism that provides new options to consumers.

 

More information:

Kenneth Solano, Specialist at the IICA Delegation in Costa Rica

kenneth.solano@iica.int

Jale a la Feria

jalealaferia@gmail.com

Share

Related news​

Catamarca and Posadas, Argentina

July 11, 2025

IICA takes part in training sessions on innovation and technology use in agriculture for students and teachers from 530 Argentine schools

More information: Institutional Communication Division. comunicacion.institucional@iica.int

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

San José, Costa Rica

July 11, 2025

Maritza Solano Arce, an entrepreneur who proved that high-quality gourmet cheeses can be produced in Costa Rica’s rural areas, is named an IICA Leader of Rurality of the Americas

Maritza produces twenty-five different varieties, including raclette, hard Gruyere cheeses, bloomy rind cheeses, such as Camembert and Brie, tomme cheeses and creamy gourmet cheeses in five different flavors.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Santo Domingo, República Dominicana

July 9, 2025

Alongside agribusiness leaders in the Dominican Republic, IICA Director General highlights the opportunities afforded by Agriculture 4.0 to capitalize on the strategic potential of Latin America and the Caribbean

IICA Director General Manuel Otero delivered a keynote speech on innovation in production systems at the headquarters of the Dominican Agribusiness Board.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins