AFO ACUAPONIA

We live in a world where 52% of the land capable of producing food is degraded (UNCCD, 2022), and where the UN projects that we will be 9.7 billion people by 2050. This presents us with a scenario where we have more mouths to feed, but less land to produce food. This is linked to the fact that more and more people prefer to live in cities; the UN estimates that 80% of humans will live in urban areas by 2050, approximately 8 out of every 10 people will prefer to live in cities, gradually losing the ancestral agricultural vocation of our species, showing us a scenario where we will have more mouths to feed, however, less space to produce food, forcing the agricultural system to use poisons and toxic agents in crops in order to not lose harvests, face climate uncertainty, and meet that growing demand. An example of this is that (UNAL, 2020) has found that in a market square in Colombia, a tomato like the one used by the population in a stew or salad can contain traces of up to 22 different toxic agents.

We specialize in building, operating, and teaching about urban farms that blend ancestral knowledge with technology, bringing fresh and organic food to the tables of Latin America. Our focus on sustainability is evident in every aspect of our work: we produce organic food using 95% less water per kilogram of harvested food thanks to recirculation systems, and achieve three times higher production per square meter than traditional agriculture, without using toxic chemicals. By being close to consumers, we reduce CO2 emissions associated with transportation. We share our knowledge to promote healthy production models, strengthening the sovereignty and food security of communities. Through the development of innovative technology, we automate processes and reduce risks in production. Helping to develop the future of agriculture.

En AFO, we use urban farms, both our own and those sold to governments, as a tool for job creation, as the implementation of aquaponics systems requires labor for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the facilities. This generates opportunities in areas such as agriculture, aquaculture, engineering, information technology, and business administration. Additionally, local production of organic food stimulates demand for labor in the distribution, marketing, and sale of fresh products, creating greater attractiveness in the food value chain. By creating jobs and economic opportunities in local communities, we indirectly contribute to poverty reduction by improving people's livelihoods and providing stable incomes.
Local food production helps us reduce dependence on imported and expensive foods, which helps families save money and improve their food security. Finally, with governments, we focus the development of our projects on training communities in governance, decision-making, improving food security, and financial management of systems to make them sustainable over time. Aquaponics promotes community development and encourages participation and collaboration among community members, as well as promoting the formation of local partnerships, strengthening social ties, and fostering a sense of ownership and shared responsibility towards the project. Lastly, but no less important, urban and sustainable agriculture helps us promote greater awareness of the importance of conserving natural resources in the community.

At AFO, we are an interdisciplinary team consisting of 2 environmental engineers, an international businessperson, a programmer, an electronic engineer, and a public accountant, where we make decisions based on data and prioritize meritocracy and self-management as a way of improvement. Our C-level executives come from various cultures, with Wit, the CEO, having indigenous roots in Colombia, and the others having grown up and learned in various areas of the country and the world about how to impact society, communities, and the environment. We love what we do, and we are driven to help, which is why our mission is to bring fresh and organic food to homes in LATAM.

By 2024, we have participated in the development of 37 aquaponics projects in 9 countries in LATAM. We have collaborated with the governments of Colombia, Paraguay, and Mexico, as well as with the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). Additionally, we have trained about 12,000 people in sustainable agriculture through online educational programs. Currently, we provide fresh organic products to approximately 550 customers in Colombia, where we have our own 200 m2 aquaponics farm and minority participation in 3 other commercial projects.

Within our expansion objectives, we find it wonderful that SOLVE is developing capabilities in achieving product-market fit, generating value connections, and leadership, as we consider these aspects important on the growth path of a company, and our team will be strengthened to prepare for a scaling supported, trained and mentalized for succes. Additionally, we see an excellent ally that can support us with legal aspects of internationalization and an incredible opportunity to reach more and more people, entities, and allies about sustainable urban agriculture and its importance for the humanity of tomorrow.

Due to our use of recirculation systems, we avoid using an average of 1030 liters of water per kg of organic food we produce, whether it's fish or plants. In 2023, we saved 34.4 million liters of water, producing around 21 tons of organic food in the projects we participated in.

Producing zero-kilometer food, close to where consumers are, allows us to avoid emitting 0.22 tons of CO2e associated with food transportation. In 2023, we avoided emitting 4.68 tons of CO2e. Additionally, our crops captured 10.01 tons of CO2 during the same year.

Finally, in 2023, we participated in the installation of approximately 1600 m2 of urban farms in unused spaces, which produce three times more than traditional agriculture. This allows us to conclude that we helped reduce pressure on forests from agriculture by 4800 m2.

"Implementing Fresh and Organic Agriculture (AFO) systems to improve food security and promote sustainable practices in communities."

At AFO, we aim to create more and more communities of conscious and responsible consumption in LATAM, reaching an online community of 50,000 people including consumers, clients, and those interested in sustainable agriculture by 2025, supporting the SDG 12: Responsible consumption.

We want to promote aquaponics and urban agriculture as strategies for food sovereignty and security, as well as drivers of local economies, expanding our reach to the 5 most important cities in Colombia by 2026, supporting the SDG 2 and 11: Zero Hunger and sustainable cities and communities.

Our goal is to achieve a surface area of 10,000 m2 of productive areas by 2026, potentially avoiding the contamination of 150 million liters of water that traditional agriculture would use to produce an equivalent amount of food, supporting SDG 13: Climate action.

To ensure efficient water use, we have designed our own automated monitoring and control systems that adjust water and nutrient supply according to the needs of plants and fish. These systems also generate data and reports that allow us to quantify the environmental impact of the projects we are involved in. To reduce our carbon footprint, we use renewable energies such as solar panels and wind turbines to power our systems. We also use Raspberry Pi cards to control the consumption of water pumping, oxygenation, disinfection, and lighting devices. Additionally, we employ recycling and reuse techniques to minimize waste and maximize efficiency in our processes. For example, we use recycled PET plastic wood and soda caps as biofilters in community projects.

4 full time staff

3 part time staff

1 fellow of a exchange program with an incubator in Bolivia.

Witiman started researching aquaponics and sustainable production models in 2015. 

In 2018, AFO was born as an educational project to teach aquaponics, hydroponics, and permaculture online; and to provide consulting services on these topics. 

In 2020, AFO was established as a legal entity in Colombia, and since then we have worked with passion and love to bring clean production systems to remote areas, cities, scientific parks, farmers, indigenous people, and many more communities.

In AFO, we provide employment opportunities to the entire community without discriminating against anyone based on their race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin. However, we promote supporting more underserved populations such as single mothers, youth, and victims of conflict who in the past produced on their lands but were displaced and are now too old to have dignified jobs; we give them the opportunity to embrace their roots, teach what worked for them, and learn new technologies adapted to our solution. This has helped us integrate knowledge from many backgrounds, support people who are discriminated against in other areas, reduce the wage gap among themselves, and continue working for other remote communities. Additionally, our COO is a woman, an environmental engineer, who understands in detail the technical details of urban agriculture, with incredible soft skills for leadership and team empowerment.

We have 2 lines of business, a B2B line where we sell projects and consulting services to entities, governments, and companies. These clients need to reduce their production costs, their social intervention costs, or improve their sustainability actions. For this niche, strategic relationship building and networking work for us. These projects are one-time sales, where we seek recurrence through the subsequent sale of inputs and monitoring.

In the other B2C line of business, we sell fish and organic plants to restaurants, entities, and communities committed to responsible consumption. This niche has a need to satisfy their communities with quality products, take care of their health, and feel satisfaction because they buy sustainably. For this niche, digital marketing, participation in fairs, and point-of-sale work for us. These customers are recurring and generate constant sales for us through subscription and occasional purchase.

We sell urban agriculture systems to companies, organizations, and governments ranging from $1,500 to $100,000, yielding a profitability of 15% to 30% per project. 

Additionally, we produce and sell organic food to restaurants, organizations, and communities focused on conscious consumption, ranging from $0.5 to $5 per product. This represents a profitability ranging from 50% to 150% per product for us.

Our plan to achieve financial sustainability is based on several fronts. First, we aim to generate income through the sale of our products and services, both in the B2B and B2C markets. This includes selling projects and consulting services to entities, governments, and companies, as well as selling fish and organic plants to restaurants, entities, and communities committed to responsible consumption, thinking that customers are the best investors. In 2023, we sold around 140k USD to corporate clients and around 40k USD in organic food.

Additionally, we seek to establish service contracts with governments and entities for the implementation of sustainable projects. We are also exploring the possibility of raising investment capital to expand our operations and reach more communities, more cities. We want each AFO farm to be a profitable business unit that operates independently and integrates into a network of nodes with other farms to share production-related data that allows us to improve as a company. In our Villavicencio farm, we have 200 m2 of productive area, and it generates an annual profitability of 35%, which has shown us that, although the investment amounts to build aquaponic farms are high, the profitability is attractive when processes are standardized and each model is seen as a business unit.

To date, we have been successful in generating income through the sale of projects and consulting services, as well as the sale of our organic products. We have also received financing through grants and donations to support our research and development activities, such as the case of HZERO, the World Food Program's sustainable business incubator, who invested 50k USD to develop aquaponics systems in different environments of Colombia (mountain areas, jungle areas, savannah areas; with indigenous communities, farmers, and public schools), and this has allowed us to learn to operate and manage projects better. Additionally, these income streams have allowed us to cover our operating expenses and advance our mission of promoting sustainable practices in agriculture.