Inka Gold Farms, a three-year-old Florida-based company with significant organic production in Peru, is currently focusing its attention on its Peruvian organic asparagus crop as it matures. Of course, at the present time, all Peruvian asparagus shipped into the United States must be fumigated, which eliminates the US market from consideration for Inka Gold's organic fresh asparagus.

Aaron Slater, who is on the company's executive committee and is a shareholder, noted that Inka Gold was formed in 2018 to take advantage of the opportunity that the founders believe lies in Peruvian organic agriculture. He said the initial goal was to farm organic crops at a scale that allowed for direct-to-retail marketing.

Initially, a 1,000-hectare farm was acquired in Northern Peru that was already populated with 70 hectares of asparagus. Inka Gold Farms began transitioning that conventional production to organic and planted more of the land with both asparagus and avocados, adhering to organic growing practices.

The asparagus land has already yielded production, while the first significant avocado production is expected in 2023. Slater revealed that it takes about three years for a new asparagus planting to reach its full potential. “About 20 percent of our asparagus crop is at full yield this year.”

Inka Gold Farms began transitioning that conventional production to organic and planted more of the land with both asparagus and avocados, adhering to organic growing practices.

Slater said the marketing of both fresh crops will be primarily in Europe for the time being, though he hopes that the United States will eventually allow imports of fresh organic Peruvian asparagus. The US-based Peruvian Asparagus Importers Association (PAIA) has been working on this issue for many years and has expressed optimism that protocols can be developed that will allow import of asparagus without fumigation, opening the import door for organic production. Of course, asparagus for the processor market is a necessary part of any asparagus farming operation, and Slater did say that Inka Gold is selling frozen organic asparagus to US-based processors.

While organic avocados from Peru can be shipped into the United States, Slater revealed that the company anticipates leveraging the European retail relationships forged by its organic asparagus program to inform the sales of the organic avocados as they mature.

Slater said the marketing of both fresh crops will be primarily in Europe for the time being, though he hopes that the United States will eventually allow imports of fresh organic Peruvian asparagus.

He added that “green laws” in the European Union make it more conducive to successfully market organic production. At the heart of the European Green Deal is an action plan that encourages organic production and sets a target to increase consumer demand through promotion and regulations. “Europe seems to be a few years ahead of the US regarding organics,” Slater said.

Slater said an important part of Inka Gold’s strategy is to offer year-round shipments of organic asparagus to its customers. He said the Peruvian crop currently has two production windows—one in May/June and the other in the final quarter of the calendar year. Grower-packers are able to manipulate their harvesting and storage capabilities to offer year-round shipments, but the main volume is exported during those two heavy production periods. 

As time goes on, Slater said the company does expect expansion to include other crops, but he noted that they do want to remain a niche producer. “We can expand our land holdings and expect to do so.”

Slater said the Inka Gold farming partners, which are based in Trujillo, Peru, were initially drawn to asparagus because of its potential in the marketplace, the ability to produce at scale, and the relative ease of producing organic asparagus. Though it is not necessarily an easy crop to grow using organic techniques, Slater said it is easier than other crops that were considered.

“Europe seems to be a few years ahead of the US regarding organics.” – Aaron Slater

In discussing the trajectory of Inka Gold Farms since its inception, Slater said the company's business plan has been unfolding smoothly. The early emphasis was on capital allocation, with putting the necessary infrastructure in place as job number one. Next in line was working on the marketing of that program, which is currently ongoing. As time moves on, he said the company will concentrate more time on looking at other crops and expanding its scope.