In full era of artificial intelligence, agricultural development in Mexico faces unexpected questioning: what is the true innovation that will allow the industry to transform and really help producers?
This is the question that has stolen the dream of Ahern, the leading company in the distribution of vegetable seeds in North America, and its two main heads, Roee Tamari, executive president and owner, and José Luis Vidales, CEO.
“Since we invested in Ahern we saw a platform that could change the lives of farmers. It helps us to solve challenges of reaching the market and bringing innovation that can be aimed at producers,” says Tamari.
Farmers in Mexico face a great diversity of problems, which includes decision -making linked to external factors (climate, water, prices changes) and internal (labor, nutrients that crop, protection) needs.
Hence, Ahern has worked on a change in business philosophy, which has gone from a purely transactional sense, with the sale of seeds, to a holistic solution capable of accompanying the farmer throughout the process.
“The world is not about negotiators, but of partners who understand what you need: to help you choose the correct varieties, fertilizer suppliers, and even recognize the field and climate of the place where farmers are working,” explains Vidales, an expert with more than 10 years of studies related to agricultural development.
Thus the concept of Empower Your Growth arose, a slogan that defines this agricultural business platform, in which the trend, as in other industries, looks towards efficiency, cost management, and the intention of raising competitiveness in farmers.
Ahern contributes to the North American region leading worldwide in the production of tomatoes, sweet corn, carrot, as well as a wide variety of chiles, col, lettuce and fruits, such as melon and watermelon.
Accompaniment for the whole season
The seed business has turned in a complex direction, in which technique and science coincide to develop adequate alternatives for each region.
“Our position as a distributor makes us unique, because we have the responsibility of obtaining the product and creating knowledge and understanding of how to take it to the best port,” says Tamari, a specialist of Israeli origin whose career has focused on business development and innovation in the field.
The challenge for Ahern has been to identify these needs within the agricultural industry and turn them into practical solutions, a process in which one of the largest seed research centers in North America has been created.
The Technology Center in Culiacán (CTC), Sinaloa, is a development of more than 7 hectares where different varieties of seeds are validated through technologies that allow us to understand their behaviors compared to different levels of stress, temperature, humidity and irrigation.
Thanks to this development and the thousands of daily applications that are carried out in the CTC, Ahern goes with the farmers not only with seeds, but with a knowledge that will really serve for the development of the field in a region with specific characteristics.
“We know what is the best variety for the biological conditions of each area. We can offer what is best for it, the precise solutions for the plant and even a credit program that we have with our bank allies in Mexico,” says Tamari.
Ahern has made more than 3 thousand essays through different areas around Mexico, the United States and Central America, where the technology that has been tested and the result it offers towards the end of the planting season is validated.
Challenges for the Mexican countryside
The specialists agree that there are still challenges to face in the Mexican countryside.
“The macroeconomic policy we are living, is something that we are going to have to deal with more and more. While, secondly, natural resources will be a constant need and problem,” Vidales explains.
The third big problem will be the financing, both for the producer and for the marketer. According to Vidales, it is one of the aspects of the business that has most sought to develop Ahern in recent years, because thanks to its more than 40 years of experience, today they have one of the most detailed types and risk management of types and risk management for the Mexican countryside and its financial services.
Finally, Tamari points out that Ahern is going through a fundamental transition, as a seed distributor to become a partner of comprehensive solutions for farmers.
