Food producer network 2020 grantee

Moica Farm LLC

Moica Farm — named after its owners Moisés and Carla — is a family-operated agroecological farm in northwestern Puerto Rico, near the beautiful Guajataca forest. The farm, which specializes in tropical fruits, vegetables, and herbs, flooded during Hurricane Maria in 2017. Since the storm, Moisés and Carla, agronomists who graduated from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, found a better way to collect rainwater and use it throughout the growing season for irrigation. The couple markets their products mostly through Frutos del Guacabo, a former WCK grantee, while the farm’s dragon fruits are sold to a bar in Quebradillas, which turns them into delicious mojitos.

With its second grant, Moica Farm — which recently incorporated as an LLC with WCK’s support — will build a 9,000-gallon water catchment tank to irrigate a planned breadfruit and avocado plantation. WCK is also funding the machinery rental for land clearing, a DACO-certified weight scale, a water pump, a pressurized tank, and the irrigation systems. In addition, Moisés and Carla will acquire a 2-wheel tractor to prepare the soil for planting. Establishing fruit trees takes a few years, so more bountiful harvests will be seen in years to come.