Agriculture, the dairy sector and social sustainability, private company or social company?

In its 65 years of presence in the market, Alquería today demonstrates a clear understanding of how the dairy system should be equitably transformed in an agrarian Colombia, within the framework of the country's social situation and in the face of its responsibility in the face of global warming. It is an industry that generates greenhouse gases through the methane produced by livestock; and that is why we fight against deforestation, a consequence of the expansion of the agricultural frontier, mainly in the Colombian Amazon, and in the Andean forests and moorlands of the center of the country. A family business that was created by Professor Jorge Cavelier, public health expert and founder also public clinics for the treatment of venereal diseases. He was concerned that people were consuming raw milk with its associated risks, rather than pasteurized milk with all its benefits; This is how the principles of the company's social base were established. Since its inception, all the company's direct collaborators received in their homes, free of charge, one liter of milk a day if they did not have children and three liters if they did. The company began with used machinery that Enrique Cavelier, a zootechnologist and son of doctor, dismantled near Medellín in 1959 to install it in Cajicá, 30 kilometers north of Bogotá. In the seventies, the company evolved in its packaging and distribution, always maintaining the “operating room” asepsis that characterized the founder; This quality seal was recognized by clients and consumers, consolidating its name in the market. In 1990, with the economic opening, new technologies were introduced, such as long-life milk. With these advances, a new generation took the reins of the business and we consolidated a robust distribution that today reaches close to 200,000 clients; In addition, a solid brand was built with a unique marketing strategy, positioning it as the first in Top of Mind and Top of Heart in Colombia. During the last 20 years, after overcoming the bankruptcy law following the 1998 recession, The company expanded through alliances, establishing plants in Cali, Medellín, Bucaramanga and the Caribbean Coast. He also formed a joint venture with the company Danone that lasted 10 years, leaving valuable learning in fermented beverages and expanding the company's vision beyond the Colombian context. Finally, it partnered with Mesoamérica, a Central American investment fund that shares the social values ​​of the founders. Today, it is the company that processes the largest amount of liquid milk in Colombia for sale to the public, with sales of 400 million dollars , and the third in the dairy sector. It has recently evolved into a multi-brand and multi-category company with top-level professional management. But beyond its size, being the largest B (Benefits) company in Colombia, Alquería defines itself as a company that seeks to be “the best company for the world” and does so by creating public and social value.Jorge Cavelier, founder of the company, was concerned about the risks of people consuming raw milk instead of pasteurized milk. Juancho Torres (Getty Images) In this process of systemic transformation with social objectives, he had already understood the consumer and the shopkeeper. However, he had only taken small social steps within the great challenge represented by the Colombian peasantry and countryside, and his social actions were limited to the municipality, with advances in health, aqueduct and education, contributed by Enrique Cavelier as a transformer of local communities. Suddenly a first serendipity arises, with an invitation to buy milk from peasants/guerrillas in the Serranía de la Macarena region, a historical area of ​​presence of the FARC. The success was resounding: in four years, the collection grew from 6,000 to 60,000 liters per day, benefiting 1,500 families and avoiding the forced displacement of coca growers to the cities. In another serendipity, with Father Daniel Saldarriaga, director of the Food Bank of Bogotá, a coup de foudre occurred that was not long in coming and the company quickly became the main industrial donor of the Bank that fulfilled a great task in alleviating the hunger of the poorest during the pandemic, in alliance among others with PRISA, company that owns the newspaper EL PAÍS. With Daniel Saldarriaga and the Mexican model as a reference, we founded Ábaco, the Association of Food Banks of Colombia, along with 22 other food banks in 2008; Today it covers the entire country and offers food daily to more than 1.2 million vulnerable people. The social impact today is thus the company's greatest commitment. This social aspect of the company was further developed with the creation of the Alquería Cavelier Foundation in 2010, pointing to education as a factor in the fight against inequality. The Exceptional Talents program identifies low-income children with high intellectual potential in remote municipalities of Cundinamarca, a department that surrounds Bogotá; So far, almost 500 children have received scholarships to study at the best universities in Colombia. In addition, the public schools in the pilot project municipality have achieved exceptional educational levels, positioning themselves as the best in the country. This program has been expanding and is expected to benefit 200 schools and 200,000 children by 2025, transforming the educational and organizational culture between principals and teachers, achieving outstanding results with students. However, the Vaca Madrina program is currently the star project, aimed at small dairy farmers, with incomes of half the minimum wage, multiplying them by five or seven. This is achieved through technical assistance, credit, and on-farm improvements, such as water wells, reseeding paddocks, dividing paddocks for rotational grazing, and biodigesters that provide methane gas to homes and prevent deforestation. This model aims to replace milk imports and lift thousands of small farmers out of poverty. At the same time, it focuses on the care of the paramos and reforestation, with the aim of replanting 3,000 hectares of dry tropical forest. As the philosopher Adela Cortina has said well: the company of the future will be social or it will not be.Carlos Enrique Cavelier He is coordinator of Sueños de Alquería. This note is based on the presentation presented at Dairy Vision in Campinas, Brazil, November 2024.