AGROAMAZONIA

More than 300 Colombian families of the Putumayo Department have begun to cultivate palm hearts as a substitution for illicit coca plantations as indicated in the framework of the eradication policies of the Colombian Government and the United States. The enterprise was created in the middle of 2001 by six associations of farmers that have signed an agreement for the substitution of illicit cultivations that is in line with the National Alternative Development Plan (Plante) which is nowadays called Plan Colombia.

In the third year of palm tree cultivations, once the initial phase has been secured, the farmers receive economic benefits of around 1300 US dollars annually for each cultivated hectare. In the first phase of the coca substitution policy supported by Plante, Agroamazonia managed to produce some 350 hectares of palm tree cultivation of the bactris gasipaes type. The policy also includes the product’s processing and packaging.

Chontaduro is one of the 50 names under which the native palm of the tropical zone of the Americas is known and it was adopted by the indigenous culture and contributes to the development of the populations of the Amazon.

Palm hearts are valued for their nutritional and medical properties. The palm hearts are inside the closed leaves and form a large and compact cylinder in the stems of the multi-stemmed palm tree.

The first palm hearts take between 15 to 18 months to mature and can be harvested when the diameter of the stems reach a width of between 10 and 14 centimetres.

Between the harvesting and the industrial processing of the palm hearts no more than 24 hours should pass as it is a highly transitory product.

Due to the frequency of rain that is normally falling in the tropical jungles where the palm tree grows, initially it is hard work to prepare and care for the tree as, for instance, weeds around the plant have to be eliminated periodically.

In 1994, Mr Ramos, a farmer of the region who bought a piece of land of 10 hectares including coca cultivations said, “I never liked this type of cultivation”. Thus, he let the coca perish and cultivated palm trees instead. He reserved four hectares to seed 12.000 palm trees and used the remaining space for the cultivation of fruits, yucca and bananas, as well as the maintenance of a fish farm.

His piece of land is located in Platanillo which is under the jurisdiction of the Puerto Caicedo municipality and, as the municipalities of Puerto Asis, Orito, Valle del Guamuez and San Giguel which are also located in Putumayo, are at the heart of the Plante policy.

The palm hearts in Mr Ramos’ piece of land as well as those of the other farmers in the same zone sell their products in the French supermarket chain Carrefour which purchases all of the goods of Agroamazonia.


Product description:

Palmito palm hearts (bactris gasipae), tinned, with healthy external coating that meet the requirements of metal packaging and undergo a controlled sterilization process which guarantees the microbiological quality of the product. The producers of Agroamazonia are responsible for the whole process from harvesting to the distribution of the product.

Ingredients:

Palm hearts, citrus acid, salt and water.

Nutritional facts:

For 113.2 grams:

Calories 35
Total fat 0.50g
Cholesterol 0.00g
Sodium 310mg
Total carbohydrates 4g
Fibre 1.0g
Sugar 0.00g
Protein 2.5g
Vitamin A 2%
Vitamin C 2%
Calcium 5%

Presentation of the product: The chontaduro palm hearts come in 0.5 kg; 1kg; 1kg and in small pieces. In addition, the consumer may find it sold in glass containers