Cropster is going to attend Agro del Pacifico 2010, an event that will take place from the 29th to 31st of July in Cali, Colombia. Here we will see the launching of the Site-Specific Agriculture based on Farmers Experiences (SSAFE) project, an initiative that aims to revolutionize fruit production in Colombia.
We are proud to announce that Cropster.org will participate in this project with its platform Cropster C-sar, which will be fundamental in organizing information that will help determine the optimal conditions for growing tropical fruits in Colombia. This longterm project will have positive impact for Colombia showing the importance of tropical fruits to the national economy.
The project is led by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) and the Association of Fruit and Vegetable Growers in Colombia (ASOHOFRUCOL), helped by Colombia’s National Research Program (CORPOICA), the Secretaries of the Fruit Chains and more than two thousand producers who will share their experiences on the growing process of the crops.
The initial focus of this research project is the supply chain for high value fruits like mango, avocado, orange, lemon, mandarin and plantain in Colombia. It seeks to gather information about each producer, in order to develop an information sharing network with thousands of other local farmers. An important goal is to identify methods of production that work well and those that don’t work well at different locations, in different regions but also in different seasons of year.
This dialogue between practice and scientific analysis, enabled by Cropster C-sar, will allow the creation of a learning network which will help us make better decisions and increase production, leading to a national expansion of fruit cultivation. The project intends to continue it’s self- sustainability after the initial three years.
“It’s a great opportunity without precedent for the small fruit farmers in Colombia”, said Martin Wiesinger, co-founder and representative of Cropster in Latin America.
Cropster C-sar becomes once again an important tool that facilitates decision making for the sake of the development of a sustainable agriculture in Colombia.
We are all looking forward to the development of this great news for agriculture in Colombia!
Check out the project website for more information and stay tuned.
Pic by Neil Palmer (CIAT)
