For the majority of people, Friday is one of the most eagerly awaited days of the week because it announces two days off work. However, for most of farmers it is the beginning of “los dias de mercado” (“market days”). The weekend is the right time for selling what has been cultivated and harvested on the markets.
Farmers of Yachik, a commercial brand of small-scale farmer organisations from Pedro Moncayo and Cayambe – rural provinces in the north of Ecuador - are banking on themselves and their agroecological products by taking part in existing urban markets or by organising new ones.
Rikolto has promoted this strategy and the creation of Yachik since 2018, as part of its international Food Smart Cities programme which aims to supply the Metropolitan District of Quito (DMQ) with safe, high-quality food in a sustainable way.
A key approach is to work towards the professional development of the farmers' organisation UCCOPEM (Pedro Moncayo Farmers Union), a Rikolto partner made up of 4,000 farming families.
"One of the biggest issues is a lack of markets. We need more retail spaces and better prices in order to avoid the fruits and vegetables that we produce going to waste."
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