Testimonial
Lighthouse Farm Academy participant Rodrigo Castro
A transformative learning experience that reconnected me with the true purpose of agricultural innovation.
When Rodrigo Castro, Country Manager at Solidaridad Brazil, heard about the Lighthouse Farm Academy from his colleague Monique van de Vijver, he didn’t hesitate to sign up. What followed was a learning journey that exceeded expectations, both in depth and impact.
“Brazil is one of the world’s major food producers, but we’re facing enormous challenges: climate change, biodiversity loss, and a growing population. We urgently need new, sustainable models of agriculture. Lighthouse Farm Academy gave me the tools - and the network - to start making those changes happen.”
Rodrigo joined the online modules in March and participated in the Brazil Farm Lab in May 2025. What stood out most to him was the applied and practical nature of the training. Unlike other programmes that remain at the policy or theoretical level, Lighthouse is hands-on: real problems, real farms, and real solutions.
We formed diverse teams, from business, finance, NGOs, and the farming sector, and co-created agricultural innovations from scratch. The diversity of perspectives made it incredibly rich. We weren’t just talking about change; we were building it.
Rodrigo is already applying his learnings with over 2,000 smallholder cacao farmers in the Amazon. By introducing new methods of farm system diversification, peer-to-peer learning, and strategies for scaling impact, he’s helping Solidaridad shift from improvement on farms to improvement between farms.
And he’s not stopping there. "I’m now training our eight regional programme managers to carry this forward. But I’m also encouraging at least two of them to attend the programme themselves. To truly transform agriculture, we need more people to experience this first-hand."
He emphasises the human aspect of the experience as well:
The team in Brazil was incredibly dedicated. The whole process - both online and in the field - was inclusive, respectful, and inspiring. It’s not just a course. It’s a community of people who truly believe change is possible, and who act on it.
Rodrigo sees strong potential for the Lighthouse Farm Academy to expand its reach in Brazil, given the country’s agricultural importance. He is already sharing the programme with external networks, including the Brazilian Sustainable Beef Platform, Sustainable Coffee Platform, and Brazilian Coalition on Climate, Forests, and Agriculture.