Mexico is at the forefront of climate-friendly solutions in various productive sectors.
In line with the policies of Mexico's Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), actions have been taken to promote the use of renewable sources of energy in the agricultural sector to decrease the negative impacts on the environment.
One of these initiatives, the Sustainable Rural Development project, seeks to modernize and rehabilitate small and medium-sized agribusinesses to improve their environmental sustainability. There is special emphasis on the efficient consumption of energy and/or renewable energy, as well as on the promotion of the sustainable management of waste and the conversion of biomass for its potential use as energy.
The project, implemented by the Shared-Risk Trust Fund (FIRCO) as part of SAGARPA, and with the support of the World Bank, has been demonstrating tangible results since 2010.
However, in 2015 it became evident that the procurement processes for small agricultural producers were complex. And that there was potential for achieving greater benefits for agribusinesses if an evaluation criteria was more suited to their needs. Small-scale farmers had to face unknown market situations and procurement processes that were difficult to comply with, implying a major investment in time and effort.
In order to take on this problem, the FIRCO team together with the World Bank developed a friendly online platform to respond to local needs.
The use of the electronic procurement website was activated in 2015. Through the website 101 agribusiness have been financed so far.
