By INTA.
Vegetable production in Río Colorado and surrounding areas is concentrated in the summer months, favored by the climate and a gravitational irrigation system that operates from September to March through irrigation shifts for the farms. The field production season is reduced to the summer months and producing families need to implement technologies and strategies to maintain a regular and profitable crop for much of the year.
Faced with these conditions, INTA Rio Colorado together with the Land Workers Cooperative (CTT) of that town They built eight 16 x 50 meter greenhouses, designed to extend the cultivation of vegetables in autumn and bring it forward in spring.. The project was financed by the Program for the Promotion of Resilient and Sustainable Agri-Food Systems for Family Farming (PROSAF) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Nation.
According to Marcelo Ramos – horticultural producer and president of the cooperative – the greenhouses benefit the 17 families that produce vegetables and market them at local fairs and prepare around 50 weekly agroecological bags. “During the winter we had no way to produce due to the lack of water and the cold. In those cases, vegetables ended up becoming more expensive because the transportation of vegetables from another area was paid.”said Ramos, and remarked: “With this project we can make vegetables under cover and that has an economic impact on the families that produce and on consumers. “We are very happy and have high expectations.”
“The production of biofertilizers from intra- and extra-farm waste is promoted.”
Myriam Barrionuevo, IPAF Patagonia professional.
Greenhouses are structures that allow cultivation in closed areas in which conditions remain almost unchanged during the day.: temperatures are high, humidity is high and there is no air circulation. Crops under cover are more tender and cleaner because they are less exposed to wind and other adverse environmental conditions; which results in better quality, with less waste of burned, branched or dehydrated leaves and fruits.
According to Karina Zon – INTA Río Colorado professional – Indoor production will improve the supply of weekly bags of vegetables due to an increase in quality, quantity and diversity of species offered.at the same time being able to maintain this offer throughout the year.
In social and organizational terms, Zon highlighted other advantages of this project such as the possibility of carrying out joint work, sharing tools, application equipment, and the irrigation pump. “Organization and collective work make it possible to incorporate technology for family production, reduce work, reduce costs and improve the quality of life of families,” he noted and exemplified: “The cooperative produces organic fertilizers (bocachi tea or compost ) that are applied through fertigation. Before, they were applied with 20 kilo backpacks loaded on their backs while they walked along the banks. Now, they share the same property and have the possibility of using the “Venturi” equipment, a device that sucks the tea from a tank and incorporates it directly into the irrigation water that is distributed through drip tape to each plant.”.
Differential quality. Crops under cover are more tender and cleaner.
Myriam Barrionuevo – a professional from the Institute of Research and Technological Development for Family Agriculture Patagonia Region (IPAF Patagonia) – works with the cooperative in workshops for the artisanal production of biomeadows for health control and soil fertility. In this project, the organic amendments and nutrient solutions (“tea”) produced from them and their effect on crops were physically, chemically and biologically characterized.
“The production of biofertilizers is promoted from intra- and extra-farm waste such as livestock and agro-industrial by-products, with the aim of reducing the consumption of external inputs.“, assured Barrionuevo, and explained: “On the one hand, the content of organic matter, microorganisms and minerals increases, increasing the diversity of life in the soil and its current fertility and, at the same time, erosion and pollution are reduced. of the water”.
“Organization and collective work make possible the incorporation of technology for family production.”
Karina Zon, professional from INTA Río Colorado.
On the other hand, INTA has been working for 5 years with producer families through technical assistance, both in productive aspects and in organizational terms for the formalization of the group as a cooperative. During this process, it was identified that the cooperative has a large number of women members who have difficulties accessing credit and making decisions related to the management of productive tasks..
For that reason Gender workshops were held to reflect with all members on this problem. and a revolving fund was managed that allows access to financing in the form of credit for the members of this organization.
“The implementation of a revolving fund for the cooperative allows women to be prioritized and encourages their involvement in productive task management activities,” reflected Karina Zon.