Established in 1971 in a small locale at the coffee mill, our Agro Supply Store was originally dedicated exclusively to the sale of fertilizers to our members. In view of the rapid growth of the Cooperative, the store was subsequently relocated to downtown Naranjo, near our central offices. In order to offer a broader service, the store's inventory was expanded to include a variety of agricultural supplies, not only for the production of coffee but also for other crops such as beans, tomatoes, and vegetables, as well as hardware and construction supplies.
The Cooperative now offers agro supply services at two sales and dispatch centers, one in front of the Municipal Market, and the other in the nearby San Rafael district, consisting of a 22,000-square-foot wholesale warehouse with a large parking area for loading and unloading merchandise.
All our facilities are designed to offer quick, easily accessible service to our clients, whether Cooperative members or the general public, since we offer service at the county, regional, and national levels.
Besides being wholesale distributors of the aforementioned products, our principal function is to act as a regulator of market prices, by offering quality products at low prices to the community in general. Also, our members and clients can obtain credit for the purchase of goods and services provided by the Agro Supply Store.
We offer integrated solutions in construction materials and hardware, bathroom fixtures, agricultural supplies and equipment, automotive products, paints, and finish materials.
In this manner, our Agro Supply Store has won the trust of the Naranjo community and the western Central Valley over the past 36 years, by offering efficient service, trained personnel, and excellent quality products, thus comprising an important part of the Coopronaranjo R.L. family.
As an important part of our service to our members as well as the community in general, we offer a small recreational center with a swimming pool for adults, a wading pool for children, dressing rooms, showers, and restrooms. There is also a basketball court and a landscaped area with picnic tables, where our members and other visitors can enjoy a relaxing day. The Recreational Center also offers a large open-air hall for special activities, with cooking grills and beverage coolers.
As part of its quality and environmental policies, Coopronaranjo R.L. encourages its members and the farming community in general to observe more sustainable production methods. With respect to the environment, the use of agrochemicals is minimized, native species are used for shade trees, and production is focused on protecting and improving water and soil resources as the principal exploitation assets. In addition, byproducts such as coffee cherry pulp are used to produce organic fertilizer by way of vermiculture. This process allows what was once a waste product to be converted using California red earthworms eisenia foetida, which transform and enrich the pulp with mineral elements, microorganisms, and ferments that stimulate changes in organic matter, producing an excellent activator effect in plant metabolism and soil microorganisms at low cost.
The principal advantages in using this organic fertilizer include the following:
- It improves the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil by loosening clay particles and binding sand particles.
- It provides nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium, sulfur, and boron, releasing these nutrients gradually, and stimulates the physical fertility of the soil by increasing the active surface area.
- It contains high percentages of humic and fulvic acids, whose combined action allows the immediate delivery of assimilable nutrients, and whose nutrition regulating effect can last up to five years.
- Its pH is neutral, and it can be applied in any dosage without the risk of burning the plants. Seeds can be planted directly in vermicompost without any risk.
- It contains high enzymatic and bacterial loads that increase humus production in the soil. Studies estimate the presence of two billion bacteria in every gram of vermicompost, thereby creating a hostile environment for certain pathogens and neutralizing certain toxic substances such as herbicide and pesticide residues, etc. It also solubilizes elemental nutrients, thus making them available to plants thanks to the enzymes contributed by vermicompost.
- It directly transfers hormones, vitamins, proteins, and other humification factors from the soil to the plants.
- Vermicompost possesses colloidal properties that increase soil porosity and aeration, thus contributing to water infiltration and retention and root development.
For agricultural use on perennial crops, the dosage is 500-1000 grams (1.1-2.2 pounds) per plant. Ornamental plants: 100-300 grams (4-10 ounces). Fruit trees: 1-3 kilos (2.2-6.6 pounds spread around the tree. Lawns, 150-300 grams (5-10 ounces) per square meter/yard. Vegetables: 50-100 grams (2-4 ounces) mixed into the soil around the plant. Nursery and potting soil: one part vermicompost with three parts soil.
Coopronaranjo R.L sells vermicompost in 40-kilo (88-pound) sacks, and also sells worm stock to members who wish to produce their own vermicompost. Contact us for more information.
