NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Aquaculture was supposed to be the next Green Revolution, a marine version of the push to “modernize” and streamline agriculture in the developing world.? The results have drawn comparisons to the fallout, both positive and negative of corporate agriculture that deserve mentioning. ?Yes, shrimp farms create massive increases in output without overfishing the oceans because production is heavily controlled and concentrated in a smaller area. ?But this growth is driven essentially by a chemical soup the shrimp are harvested in that can cause productivity to drop overtime and lead to destruction of the local ecosystem.?

Whenever I talk about a problem like this, I am always happy to produce examples of companies like BioCentinela that have faced the sustainability challenge rather than dodging it as “not our problem” and learned to thrive in a world of environmental constraints.?

BioCentinela is a producer of organic shrimp, and has just recently officially received certification to sell the first organic tilapia in Central and South America.? Talking to the company’s founder, Javier, it became immediately clear that BioCentinela is about much more than seafood. ?Much like it’s counterpart in Brazil it is a hopeful symbol of a new paradigm of business, one that has an unquestionable drive to establish prominence in the marketplace while being an uncompromising trend-setter in seeking out new ways to establish a positive relationship with the local community and environment.? Read the full profile of BioCentinela to get a sense of their impact, and check back next week for a new Rising Ventures feature.