economy and politics

ECLAC participated in a multilevel workshop and round table to strengthen the productive transformation strategy in the province of Misiones in Argentina

This Wednesday, August 3, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) participated in the discussion workshop and multilevel work table: “Guidelines for productive development based on knowledge, biodiversity and agro-industrial value added in Misiones ”, organized jointly with the government of this province, within the framework of the project “Productive development and spatial heterogeneity in Latin America: institutions and capacity building in the programming and implementation of regional productive policies”, coordinated by ECLAC with the support and funding from the European Union.

The activity was attended by Martín Abeles, director of the ECLAC Office in Buenos Aires, Carlos Arce, Vice Governor of the Province of Misiones, Martin Cesino, provincial deputy, Facundo López Sartori, Minister of Agriculture and Production, Alicia Bohren, rector of the National University of Misiones, among other representatives and authorities from academia and the private sector.

The purpose of this meeting was to discuss and validate, with references from the territory, the results of the work carried out in this province, since November 2021, which have made it possible to incorporate suggestions into the activity strategy and support the consensus of a common agenda for productive transformation in the province of Misiones.

In the opening remarks, the director of the ECLAC Office in Buenos Aires, Martín Abeles, assured that this project emphasizes the “problems and concerns of the province”, since it is “a shared work, which aims to accompany, make visible and that collects what happens on the ground”.

Meanwhile, Carlos Arce, Vice Governor of the Province of Misiones, thanked the province for its efforts in productive development, biodiversity and environmental matters, and reaffirmed that this “requires the commitment of different actors to generate a public policy that empowers producers in productive biodiversity”.

On the other hand, the Minister of Agriculture and Production, Facundo López Sartori, highlighted the work carried out in conjunction with ECLAC and the provincial government in “detecting new opportunities” and in “promoting organization and form, which in order to The province is very important. Likewise, the rector of the National University of Misiones, Alicia Bohren, emphasized “having the university as a tool for the development of provincial policies.”

As part of the work methodology that was developed to present an agenda of productive activities, in the short, medium and long term, 17 interviews were conducted with public, science and technology, productive and university organizations. Among the production guidelines and activities that were presented were improving the capacity and productivity of traditional sectors in the province (forest plantations, wood, yerba mate, cassava, etc.), diversifying other sectors based on technology (furniture, metalworking, bioplastics, etc.) and articulate around new and emerging sectors (goods and services associated with biodiversity and green hydrogen).

Among the challenges for increasing productive efficiency are improving the efficiency of land use, incorporating genetics into plantations, training and disseminating information on pest management, and promoting the formalization of producers. In addition, it is expected to promote technological innovation and advance in the development of products with greater added value.

Regarding the related diversification, it is expected to develop commercialization channels, advance in the standardization of processes and products, coordinate an articulated work between technological centers and the academy and integrate more rural areas. Regarding unrelated diversification, some opportunities and challenges are to support the growing demand with human resources, especially in ICTs, incorporate local communities, improve financing, strengthen articulation with the private sector and take advantage of resources associated with biodiversity to apply in genetics and biotechnology.

Meanwhile, after this workshop, the next stage will be to present in depth the main production guidelines for the province of Misiones.

Source link