La Feria Verde in Costa Rica

In 2007, Costa Rica’s government created a law to reduce the agrochemicals used in agriculture that regulates certifications and registry of organic food products. It also makes sure that it is easier to export them internationally.

By 2020, 98 certified organic producers are registered individually or in a group. All together they gathered 10.064,41 hectares of organic crops in the country but still represents a low percentage (1.9%) of all the agriculture production.

Producers say that there’s not much support from the government, though. The certification protocol is cumbersome and it is hard to sell the products in the country because they are more expensive than the non-organic ones.

They deserve more merit because their products are eco friendly and it is actually helping the planet and its species but the country seems to be more interested in exporting agriculture with a strong application of agrochemicals, against the way they portray themselves as a sustainable country.

Organic agriculture offers healthy food and alimentary security and it is economically and socially sustainable because it doesn’t hurt the environment. UCR has a working project to take organic agriculture to low income communities in family or public spaces that don’t necessarily have a lot of land to sow so vertical or aerial gardens are great options in containers such as wood or plastic boxes, milk cartons or bottles and they adapt amazingly to the given conditions. This project is mostly executed in public schools, senior centers and little enclosed communities beginning with strategies that work for each group’s necessities and then gathering techniques and tools required. The greatest part of this project is that it involves not only UCR students but also people in the selected agroupations.

Costa Rica, as a country, needs to start thinking seriously about getting sustainable agriculture because it is crucial for food business to be efficient, because natural resources need to be protected and with the current massive agriculture this preservation is not a reality and because the most recondite places need a platform to be self-sufficient. Sustainable agriculture promises to be better for people and communities by increasing resilience and improving how the system works.

The usage of aliments harvested in your own backyard is an attractive idea because you get it as fresh as it can be and also because you know exactly what it has grown regarding pesticides, fertilizers and more.

Right now, there are workshops, talks, visual materials and more to get to more people so organic and own food gardens become popular. To get better results and more producers to be organic, certification, awareness and distribution need improvements.