Moishe Mana, a local agricultural rock star has the Hass Avocado and Mango business

When it comes to secretive personalities in agriculture and important businessmen in this sector in Colombia, we have to talk about Moishe Mana, one of the largest investors in the United States and Israel, who has invested in technology, especially strongly in the seeding of mangoes and avocados.

Away from his real estate conglomerate in Wynwood and downtown Miami, a few years ago he began developing a farming empire in Columbia.

In 2014, he quietly launched with his partner and co-founder Chagai Stern, Managro Fresh, part of Mana Agro, the agricultural division of the Israeli real estate holding company.

This company set up its operations in Colombia and purchased brands and machinery for Pacific Fruits, the leading bottling and distributor of Hass Avocados. They also have high competition in the export of fruits such as mango, pineapple and Tahiti lemon. Not only did this company generate more than 220 direct and indirect jobs, but it also pioneered markets that seemed out of reach for local agricultural products, such as Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Kuwait, and others.

Managro announced in 2021 that in the next three years it will purchase 3,700 hectares of land, of which about 2,800 hectares will be planted with Hass avocados throughout the country.

Although the company by that time got all its production from more than 1,200 local families, its expansion plans put on the table the need for self-sufficiency in sending agricultural products abroad.

The company also announced the import of genetic improvements for avocado seeds from Israel, through which it seeks to improve the yield of the crop through genetic material for optimal development in the tropics.

The company’s products reach more than 15 countries, including Spain, the United States, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina and others.

The billionaire said his investment in agriculture in Colombia to bring in technology will help simplify the production process and prove that agribusiness can be sustainable. During his trips to Latin America, the businessman began to realize that one of the biggest problems of the future, which can already be observed today, is food insecurity, and for this he decided to pour capital into agriculture, as a potential exporter. “Food will be the biggest problem in the future,” Mana told an American newspaper.