The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in collaboration with extension technicians from the Secretariat for Agricultural Development of the Government of Risaralda in Colombia, held a hybrid “Applied methodological training” on December 15 and 16 ( face-to-face and virtual via WhatsApp), aimed at local producers in that department who work in cocoa and banana production lines.
This instance was carried out with the purpose of strengthening agricultural extensionism in Risaralda through the territorial digitalization that has been developed, through the WhatsApp instant messaging mobile application, and within the framework of the productive and territorial development project, part of the Facility for Development in Transition, coordinated by ECLAC with support and financing from the European Union.
Therefore, this training was developed as a commitment to encourage the use of digital tools in technical extension activities in Risaralda, through a team from ECLAC and the Secretary of Agricultural Development of the Government of Risaralda, with support from the Department National Planning Department (DNP) of Colombia.
On December 15 and 16, a team from ECLAC, made up of consultants Jaime Cortés Fandiño and Jair Ojeda Rincón, together with extension technicians from the Risaralda Secretariat for Agricultural Development, held two training sessions in which nearly 30 people participated. , among producers of the cocoa and plantain chains, officials of the Ministry of Agricultural Development and ECLAC.
On the first day, there was a presentation mainly on topics related to soil fertilization and nutrition of cocoa plantations. There, Sebastián Páez, an agronomist and extension technician from the Department of Agricultural Development of the Department of Risaralda, emphasized providing recommendations and experiences for proper management in cocoa production.
Meanwhile, the second day of the activity was focused on the producers of the banana chain, who together with representatives of the government and ECLAC, participated in a talk by the agronomist and producer from the department of Risaralda, Héctor Jaime Palacio, who He presented recommendations and historical background on the evolution of two diseases that affect banana production: elephantiasis and the bacteria that produces the “banana moko”.
In this regard, the representative of this institution discussed with local producers the research work that has been developed in conjunction with the Colombian Corporation for Agricultural Research, AGROSAVIA, a decentralized public entity, whose purpose is to work on the generation of scientific knowledge and technological development. agriculture, in order to improve the competitiveness of production. Likewise, the agronomist Carlos Andrés Sánchez, an extension technician from the Secretariat of Agricultural Development of Risaralda, delved into other aspects of the diseases mentioned above.
In short, the technical assistance that ECLAC has provided in Risaralda has been a joint effort, both by the Governor’s authorities and the Regional Commission for Competitiveness and Innovation of this department, in expanding the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem to the final beneficiaries of the productive economic development policy of this territory. For these purposes, a website where all project information is hostedin addition to being a platform for innovation and territorial entrepreneurship.
Along these lines, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) presented, a couple of weeks ago, some of the main advances and results of this territorial digitization project, with the aim of making digital technologies visible to promote agricultural extension.
