Interview: David Careaga Angulo – AARC Managing Director
David Careaga is the 11th child of a traditional farming family from Culiacan, Sinaloa. He studied in Culiacan and earned a degree in Business Administration from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education. His first professional experience was at Autos y Tractores de Culiacan – Ford as a salesperson. There, he met a senior executive from the brokerage firm “Estrategias Bursatiles,” who invited him to join as a junior promoter back then. Once in the trading and financial sector, he worked in the Financing division of Automotive Agencies at Banamex Bank, where he gained experience in nearly all areas until being appointed SME Executive. While at Banamex, his career took a 180° turn when he had the opportunity to collaborate with the Federal Government at the National Water Committee, a transformative experience where he served for several years as Administrative Manager for the North Pacific Region, covering the states of Sinaloa, Nayarit, Durango, and Baja California Sur.
After completing his period in public service, he returned to the automotive industry, this time with BMW as Manager for Sinaloa, where he worked for two years until 2004. That same year, Manuel Tarriba Urtusuaztegui became the Chairman of the Farmers’ Association of the Culiacan River (AARC) and invited him to join as Managing Director. After the term of Tarriba as AARC Chairman, he went on to lead CAADES, while Eduardo Gutierrez began his term as Head of AARC, with whom David collaborated for one year before taking a public position, and then he takes a public office at the Ministry of Economic Development as Director of Exportable Supply Development during the 2008–2010 period, while Jose Ignacio de Nicolas was the Secretary. He shares that he was able to participate in very interesting projects such as the export of Sinaloa products to different countries.
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In 2010, Cesar Valenzuela takes on the leadership of the Association, and David returned as General Manager of AARC, a position he has held since then. He says he has had the opportunity to work alongside different leaderships and boards of directors, gaining valuable experiences and learnings.
Over the years, David has collaborated with great leaders such as Cesar Valenzuela, Francisco Campaña Acosta, Guillermo Gastelum, Sergio Esquer, Enrique Rodarte, Enrique Riveros, and currently Roberto Bazua. He proudly mentions that working with each of them has been like earning a master’s degree every three years.
1. Would you mind sharing with us a little bit about the history of the Farmers’ Association of the Culiacan River, and how has it evolved during your tenure?
The Association of Farmers was founded in 1932 by General Macario Gaxiola, who argued that growers organized as a guild could generate more value and achieve common goals. That year, they formed the “Association of Vegetable Producers of the Agricultural Region of the Culiacan River,” that was the first name of the association.
In 1937, Emilio Gastelum gave it its first legal name: Farmers’ Association of the Culiacan River. In May 1999, it became AARC del Rio Culiacan A.C., the current legal entity.
When I joined in 2004 under the leadership of Tarriba, the Association was coming off a strong period, thanks to previous administrations led by Engineer Paredes and Engineer Habermann, who had positioned the Association as a high-value organization. At that time, we started working internally on staff professionalization and better administrative organization, all with the purpose of serving our members more effectively.
2. How important do you think it is for growers to be a part of a farming association such as AARC?
The importance it has for growers to become a part of an organization such as this one is representation, having the support of unity and management before government institutions.
3. What are the strategic areas of the Association and its main services?
The main purpose of the Association is to support farmers in making farming production profitable and making growers more efficient. All efforts are directed toward these goals.
This is achieved through advocacy, influencing public policy, participating in markets, with governments and related organizations, and seeking the best trade opportunities.
4. How do organizations work for the benefit of farmers from Sinaloa?
Organizations work together. The Meeting is our highest governing body, supported by the Board and Administration. When an organization is managed with due importance and seriousness, the benefits for affiliated growers will be clearly reflected.
5. What are the main challenges agriculture is facing today?
The main challenges agriculture is facing today refer to the increases in production costs. We need to make production costs more efficient and achieve economies of scale. This is one of the ways to make farming more profitable.
6. Would you mind sharing with us how important Social Responsibility is for farming companies?
This is a key issue for our organization and the farming sector, where we have placed a great deal of attention for the past 15 years. When you focus on working in your human capital, you see how your company transforms from within. Your team brings stability in your operations, benefiting all the other areas. With a good work team, you can achieve anything you set up your mind into.
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7. What is Profamilia de Jornaleros IAP, how does it start and what are the main services it provides for farmers and their workers?
For the Farmers’ Association of the Culiacan River, Profamilia has been a turning point. We can say there is a “before and after” since this organization started operations. In 2006, when we decided to create the legal entity Profamilia de Jornaleros IAP, we gave the farming sector from Sinaloa and to over 110,000 farm workers who come each year to work in the fields, reliability security and work certainty.
And in turn, this certainty and trust among migrant workers was reflected in increased productivity for the farming companies affiliated to our Association.
8. What actions will be implemented to benefit the farming industry from Sinaloa during the tenure of this board?
The challenge for this board continues to be transformation. As a state that is primarily a producer of raw materials, transforming our products will remain an important and valuable challenge for the farming industry in Sinaloa.
At AARC, we have focused on professionalization, on making this activity more viable and profitable, and on doing everything possible as an organization to help growers make their farming production in Sinaloa more profitable.
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