Sustainability

As a company focused on producing organically certified products, sustainability is at the heart of Irupe’s mission. We are particularly proud of the work we do with over 400 organic certified small holder farmers. Over the years, Irupé has paid millions of dollars to help improve the livelihoods in rural households, has provided dozens of training programs to the farmers and has financially assisted them in every crop providing cash advances, seed and technical know-how.

Over the years, we have developed a network of famers that are committed to our approach and values. We work side by side these farmers to find innovative ways to increase yield using organic farming methods while producing the quality products our clients demand.

A pillar of our commitment to the environment is making sure that our farmers maintain strong levels of biodiversity on their farms. Working with numerous crops and implementing a strict rotation schedule are key to safeguarding the environment. As such, we work with smallholder and medium-sized farms that avoid some of the damaging externalities of monocrop farms that oftentimes show signs of nutrient degradation, soil contamination and the gradual destruction of its surrounding ecosystem.

At Irupe we are committed to advancing the livelihoods of our smallholder farmers and actively invest in finding innovative ways to help them make their farms as productive as possible.

In 2015, Irupe initiated a six-month long consulting project with a group of graduate students from Columbia University in the city of New York. The company and the group of four students partnered to conduct desk and on the ground research, studying the relationship Irupé holds with its smallholder farmers. In particular, the studied aimed at understanding the influence the company has had on improving the productivity and livelihoods of the farmer community.

In addition, the students researched global best practices of smallholder farming and evaluated Irupe’s practices against these established benchmarks. The final consulting report is Irupe’s playbook to strategically continue the company’s commitment to social and economic sustainability.

Through technological advancement, a range of new tools are becoming available that allow us to better monitor and manage our outgrowing program and in turn help our farmers.

Irupe is proud to announce that the Irupé research project performed by the Columbia University students has won the 2015 Leous/Parry Award for Progressive Sustainability. The award recognizes outstanding interdisciplinary approaches to tackling social problems with important environmental issues at stake.