“We essentially buy the produce at a 1 to 4 percent discount”

ProducePay has raised $2.5 million to solve what CEO Pablo Borquez Schwarzbeck said is a major issue for farmers — getting paid in a timely manner for their crops.

Borquez Schwarzbeck explained that farmers usually have to cover the cost of not just growing the produce, but also shipping — and then they have to wait for it to get sold before they get paid themselves. And since harvesting crops is expensive, this makes it harder for the farmer to harvest as quickly and aggressively as would otherwise be possible.