Puerto Rico Opportunity Zone Fund (PROZ), the first private equity firm fund focused on ESG investing in opportunity zones throughout Puerto Rico managed by Monllor Capital Partners, has made an investment in Fusion Farms, a company controlled environment aquaponics (CEAq) agricultural technology innovation in Puerto Rico.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which destroyed 80 percent of Puerto Rico’s farms, many farmers today are forced to leave the island for work, while more than 90 percent of the island’s food is imported. Food access in Puerto Rico has become increasingly limited, expensive and precariously reliant on mainland economies. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a broken food supply chain and highlighted the need for hyper-local food production. The demand for high-quality, fresh and highly nutritious produce has increased significantly, which has led Fusion Farms to expand its operation in Mayagüez and to evaluate locations in other industrial p