The proposal, with an investment of more than 8 thousand 367 million pesos, will benefit about 290 families and is led by the ASUBAGROIN research group, together with strawberry producing organizations in the municipalities of Sotará, Silvia, Puracé and Totoró , with the accompaniment of the municipal administrations involved.

 

The project called 'Research and development for the strengthening of the strawberry production chain in the department of Cauca' is one of the six initiatives where the University of Cauca participates, and which were approved by the Collegiate Body for Administration and Decision (OCAD ) of the General Royalty System. The proposal, in which more than 8 thousand 367 million pesos will be invested that will contribute to the Science, Technology and Innovation Fund this 2020, is led by members of the research group Exploitation of By-Products and Agroindustrial Waste (ASUBAGROIN), of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, headed by Professor José Luis Hoyos Concha, with the collaboration of other research groups of the University of Cauca such as CYTBIA, SISINPRO, TULL and QPN, attached to the Vice-Rectory for Research of the Alma Mater; Strawberry-based organizations, such as FRESOTA, ASOFRESO and FRUVERSIL of the municipalities Sotará, Silvia, Puracé and Totoró; and the municipal administrations involved.

 

The initiative aims to strengthen the development of the strawberry production chain in Cauca through research and experimental development processes such as the determination of productive methods associated with strawberry cultivation for the identification of compliance with good agricultural practices, development of biological strategies for the generation of bio-inputs that control pests and diseases in crops, the generation of differential fruit transformation alternatives for the use of their biocomposites, and the design of a management model of the system supply chain Strawberry production in the Department.

 

“The strawberry subsector has an important potential for the economic development of the department, having as a productive advantage the constant production that can be carried out throughout the year, however, it is in an incipient phase of agro-industrial development, with low package implementation Technological, with very little orientation towards a clean and sustainable agriculture, and diversification of products, that promote the fulfillment of quality requirements and the reduction of post-harvest losses and allow small producers to use and take advantage of the advanced results to better face its forms the demanding market requirements ”explained Professor José Luis Hoyos Concha, director of ASUBAGROIN.

 

The research project will benefit about 290 families (about 1260 people) that depend on the strawberry's productive activity, since in addition to having a significant cost at the production level, it results in significant environmental impacts on soil, water and air, whose residuals in addition to their potential permanence in the fruit, seep through the soil, and to the water currents that later have as destination the irrigation and the human consumption.

 

According to Hoyos Concha “the formulation has been developing for approximately 3 years. It arises from the need of organizations, which report poor performance in their production, related to the poor structuring of the chain and the incipient agro-industrial development, represented in the scarce applied research adapted to the problems of the chain associated to cultivation practices, pest management, agro-industrial processing, harvest and post-harvest methods and technologies, generation of new products, among others. As a consequence of these problems, losses are recorded in the post-harvest phase, reporting for the department of Cauca between 20 to 25% of production, with losses close to 3,500 million pesos per year. ”

 

Similarly, the researcher stressed that, in terms of crop management, difficulties in accessing inputs, are mainly related to the cost they represent. The use of agrochemicals (in reference to synthetic chemical substances), the main inputs required by the crop, represents about 15% of the production costs, however, they remain the option most used by producers for crop management and control of pests and diseases, whose incidence is high in strawberry cultivation and can cause up to 40% of production losses. Therefore, producers come to a high use of various agrochemicals, which becomes another problem.

 

Currently, the respective procedures are being carried out between the Government of Cauca, the University of Cauca, and the organizations involved, established by the Technical Secretary of the OCAD of FCTeI, who will certify compliance with the requirements in force to begin the execution of the draft investment in mention.

 

“The University of Cauca continues to consolidate itself as a national flag bearer in the execution of research projects for biotechnological solutions for the agro-industrial sector in the department of Cauca, highlighting the execution of projects financed by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and the General Royalty System,”said Professor Hoyos Concha.

 

More Info:

 

Office of the Vice President for Research

Telephone: 057 8209800 Ext. 2633

Email: vri@unicauca.edu.co