Wilmer Mesias

Wilmer Mesías, a hardworking 33-year-old man, has dedicated 10 years of his life to agriculture, a profession inherited from his parents. Through them, he acquired the skills and knowledge necessary to cultivate in the fields. Currently, Wilmer works on his two-hectare garden, where he grows potatoes, located in the community of La Esperanza, Ecuador.

Since its inception, Wilmer's garden has been highly productive, thanks to the high-quality potato seed he selected and the fertile soil in the area. Harvesting twice a year, his garden yields around 675 quintals of potatoes, which he sells for $11 (£7) per sack to traders who come directly to the garden and transport them by truck.

This generates a monthly income of $1180 (£934), from which he deducts expenses for fertilisers, labour payments, and other additional cultivation costs, resulting in a net monthly income of $300 (£237). Additionally, as a good agricultural practice, Wilmer allows his garden to rest for a significant period and seeks new rented plots to start a new cultivation cycle, preventing soil microorganism depletion.

In order to initiate a new planting cycle on a family-owned plot, Wilmer requests a loan repayable over 24 months with 4 semi-annual payments. He needs to purchase potato seed worth $600 (£475), invest $1280 (£1013) in acquiring organic fertilisers and agricultural inputs to properly fertilise the crops during the planting, flowering, and growth cycle, and allocate $120 (£95) for hiring workers for the cultivation.