Short marketing circuits and the digitalization of agricultural trade are promoted in Costa Rica
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
Jale a la Feria