In 2013, the Technical Assistance Program, PAT, designed by Cenicaña, began with the purpose of increasing the use and application of technologies promoted by the Center in sugar producers.
In 2013, the Technical Assistance Program, PAT, designed by Cenicaña, began with the purpose of increasing the use and application of technologies promoted by the Center in sugar producers.
This new strategy, led by the Technical Cooperation and Technology Transfer Service of Cenicaña, is implemented with the cooperation of the mills, through its technical assistance services, which will be responsible for training cane producers in the new technologies, with the focus of site-specific agriculture (AEPS®).
For this, the program will launch a training and training plan aimed at the technical assistants of the sugar mills, in such a way that, based on specialized pedagogical material and previous experiences in the field, these professionals acquire the skills to train the growers The design of the plan is currently in execution with personnel that the mills have arranged exclusively for this purpose.
The PAT also includes updating the baseline indicators on the adoption of technology in agribusiness, as part of the characterization for the start of the process, together with the potential ceilings and the adoption goals of the new varieties and technologies by 2015 .
In addition, it promotes the establishment of quality control systems for agronomic management of crops and crops in order to achieve the productive potential of cane varieties in each agro-ecological zone.
POINT OF VIEW
Camilo H. Isaacs Echeverri
Head of the Technical Cooperation and Technology Transfer Service of Cenicaña
Technological innovation generates value and is the main factor of competitiveness, and a sample of this is the huge industry built by the Colombian sugar sector. Undoubtedly, growers and mills have done the task in order to be more innovative, but due to the same conditions imposed by a globalized market, efforts will never be enough.
For 35 years Cenicaña tries to take its research and technologies to the fields of sugarcane growers. In this work, the Technology Transfer Groups have emerged, the validation of technology in commercial production conditions, the information system on the web and the publications of the Center, mechanisms that are used by growers interested in making innovation the key of your business
As a complement to these alternatives, since 2011 we have been setting up a Technical Assistance Program, PAT, which has generated great expectation among cane suppliers, which fills us with satisfaction because it shows that there is interest in improving technology adoption indicators in fields.
To respond to this interest, this year we will launch the PAT and although we have found the will to move it forward, the commitment of all the actors in the sector is required to obtain results. A commitment of the cane grower, to participate in training programs, and, of the mills, to link the PAT with its technical assistance services.
This new commitment will be the engine of innovation in cane crops in the coming years; For that reason, it is worth being part of it.
