The case study "De Mi Tierra" has been developed from the Steve Aronson Chair of Strategy and Agribusiness of INCAE Business School by strategy professor Esteban R. Brenes together with María Fernanda López, Guest Researcher of the Escuela Agrícola Panamericana Zamorano, and Caleb Andrés Pichardo, Senior Researcher. In addition, Banco Ficohsa, who is an important actor in this case with its "Environment, Social and Governance (ESG)" approach promoting access to credit for small farmers in rural areas of Honduras, supported the project.
This case attracted the attention of researchers, professors and agribusinessmen, participants in these activities, because it demonstrates the great opportunity to share a partnership scheme between different actors in the agribusiness chain. This scheme provides multiple opportunities and benefits for each of them, which would be difficult to achieve individually. For example, among many other benefits, the orientation to formal banking and access to a market segment with great needs, but with high barriers to entry and the substitution of imports of agricultural products by supermarkets.
The program being studied in the case, as a teaching method, is a strategic articulation since 2008 between Banco Ficohsa, Supermercados La Colonia and the Fundación para el Desarrollo Empresarial Rural (FUNDER). The objective is to promote the sustainable growth of small farmers in rural areas through financing, captive market opportunities and technical assistance. However, despite its trajectory and sustainability, the program has remained relatively small, so it is considering redefining the system's strategy to take the program to another level of growth.
The teaching case is a fundamental tool in business schools around the world; at INCAE this case will be used in its executive education and specialized master's programs. Ficohsa valued this research collaboration as a mechanism to obtain opinions and ideas from leaders in the sector, which will broaden the vision of the strategic alliance formed and guide the program to its continuous improvement and growth.
One year after winning the award for the best teaching case with "Cacao Oro" in Costa Rica 2022, INCAE is once again the protagonist by winning this award at the IFAMA New Zealand 2023 edition of the world conference of this organization, which was founded by Ray Goldberg, professor emeritus of Harvard Business School, and creator of the concept of "agribusiness".
Professor Esteban R. Brenes during the IFAMA 2023 conference in New Zealand.
Every year, IFAMA brings together the world's best specialists to develop projects and solutions that guarantee access to food for all human beings on the planet. In 2023, it honored the case of INCAE for its contributions to the central theme of the conference and symposium "Transforming the Global Food and Fibre System".
On this occasion, the symposium and teaching case presentations were coordinated and led by Massey University and Lincoln University. The case written by faculty and researchers from INCAE was recognized for its contributions to interdisciplinary initiatives and inspiring talent to highlight the challenges and opportunities in food sector capacity.
A motivation for producing this case was the scope it has and the interest in how it can motivate the replication of the model, it is also a means to reach different leaders in agribusiness, be they companies, academia, public sector, and others who can identify the benefits of the model, to replicate it in different scales and industries in the agricultural sector.
The Business Association of Latin American Studies (BALAS) was organized and led by EGADE Business School in Mexico City this 2023. This year's theme was "Facing Deglobalization: Views from and for Latin America" where INCAE Business School was able to participate in the category of teaching cases on the topic of "Sustainable Business".
The "De Mi Tierra" case was selected as the best teaching case thanks to its focus on sustainability through practical research to improve the understanding of strategy in companies. The latter coupled with environmental and social sustainability concerns in the business sector are becoming more relevant in today's realities.
Founded more than 30 years ago, BALAS is the first academic association focused on business and economics for the Latin American and Caribbean region.
Academics, researchers, and PhD candidates from all over the world participate in the conference, which is popular for its high academic standards. In addition to the conference, BALAS produces special edition publications, in which INCAE has participated on several occasions.
Professor Esteban R. Brenes, María Fernanda López and Caleb Andrés Pichardo are grateful for the support of the Steve Aronson Chair at INCAE Business School during the research. This Chair was led by Prof. Brenes until December 2022. Currently, Prof. Luciano Ciravegna is its director.
