Proficol Helps Lead Colombia’s Imminent Ag Revival

Proficol’s varied portfolio is tailored to Colombia’s array of crops and  smaller-sized growers. (Rivera L, Copete R)

Positioned directly between Central and South America, it is easy to see the benefit of building a distribution company in Colombia. Proficol, a Bogotá -based distributor and manufacturer of agrochemical products, has been capitalizing on the nation’s optimal positioning and array of agricultural opportunities for more than half a century. As the wave of change and expansion begins to swell for the up-and-coming agrochemical giant, Farm Chemicals International sat down with the company to learn how it has become a household name in the national industry and how it plans to remain that way as the market picks up.

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Proficol has operations in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela and is part of the Makhteshim Agan Group. Strong in rice and banana crops, Proficol formulates and distributes its own products and those of other companies such as RiceCo and Arysta. Benefiting from its extensive portfolio and top-notch training and marketing strategies, Luz Amanda Copete, national sales manager, and Jose Ariel Rivera, regional marketing manager shared how the company has stayed on top through the Colombian market’s ups and downs, and how they expect the next decade to bring the nation’s true potential to fruition.

According to Copete and Rivera, Colombia has enough available land to expand substantially in the agricultural arena. Furthermore, the nation is flanked by both the Atlantic and Pacific and varies greatly in altitude, which allows for a wide offering of crops. It also has little fluctuation in seasons in the North which means year-round cultivation. The hurdles, however, lie in a part of Colombia’s history that left that countryside fragmented and without many modern amenities like reliable infrastructure and access to credit. Although Colombia could currently be considered a top-five ag market in Latin America and top three in the Andean region, Copete says it is poised to explode. “We have the location, the land and the resources,” she says. “I think our growth will pick up as these challenges are addressed.”

In order to capitalize on this, Proficol tailors its portfolio to Colombia’s wide range of crops. From the famous coffee and banana fields to the lesser-known kiwi, avocado and uchuva operations, it is impressive to hear that Proficol says it is the only company out of 118 agrochemical distributors in the nation with products for every single crop. “Our presence in Colombia is total,” says Rivera, “Everywhere there is a crop, we have a presence.”
It isn’t just about the product offering, though, explains Copete, it’s about teaching growers how to use what they are purchasing to improve quality and yield.

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“The average grower in Colombia farms on less than one hectare,” Copete explains. “These aren’t the huge operations you find in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.” For an agrochemical business, this smaller-sized client means specific marketing techniques to get the right product in the right hands. It also means additional in-field training.

This training service best embodies Proficol’s attitude toward success in Colombia. “We have more than 100 people in the fields across the country teaching our clients how to correctly and optimally use our product,” Copete explains. “Because in reality, we can only have success when they do.” 

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