The circular Economy, It is a model that is gaining more and more strength among companies. Sustainability and generating added value has become a central theme when consuming products and services. Jorge Eliécer Luna, CEO of Eko Bojacá, in an interview with Portafolio, recounted the details of the agricultural business and the challenges in the current market.
(Read: Is there a risk of fertilizer shortages in Colombia?).
Today there is talk of a shortage of inputs for agriculture, high prices, etc. How do you really see the situation in the country?
Indeed there is a shortage of chemical inputs for the agricultural sector, however, there is an abundance of raw materials that would allow Colombia to produce and substitute them favorably, at least 50% of inputs in organic raw materials, would considerably reduce costs. of agricultural production.
What impact can this situation have for producers and for Colombian agriculture?
The country’s situation is much more complex, given that we present a desertification of soils that are becoming salinized and losing their layers, this leads to a problem of agricultural production capacity.
It has been found during this time that more and more chemicals are needed to produce more, but with less quality and nutrients, generating greater risk, that means that we must change the customs in agricultural processes, so that growers really understand that it is not nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium that are generating productivity, but rather that those poorly managed are what are leading them to ruin.
What is the ‘core’ of your company?
Our company carries out an activity that is vital for the life of the planet. In the first instance, we solve the problem of sanitary landfills, since a large amount of raw material that is still called “garbage or waste” continues to arrive at sanitary landfills.
We use these organic residues with their valuable microbial load and we produce high-quality organic fertilizers, with which we recover the soil layers, allowing a better capture of greenhouse gases, thus reducing production costs. agriculture and improving food quality.
On average, 60% of the waste is of an organic nature and today, unfortunately, it is wasted.
How are you perceiving the current situation and what measures are you taking?
We see a great opportunity for the environment, farmers and the community in general to become aware and individually responsible for their own waste. We believe that it is very important to exponentially increase the use of organic waste for the production of fertilizers. There would be a lot of work to be done to recover the soil.
(Besides: Coffee production in Colombia has fallen 15% so far in 2022).
It is important for stakeholders to be aware of the doses and quantities that the soil can receive. Soils also need to rest, manage stress and strengthen their immune system to deal with pests.
Do you think that Colombia should expand its supplier matrix?
Today in Colombia raw materials are being wasted in many ways. The raw materials that are reaching the landfills can cover almost 50% of the demand for organic fertilizers or fertilizers in general, which are required to recover the soil or to cover the ‘scarcity’ of agricultural inputs, where, actually this insufficiency is derived from chemical inputs.
If Colombia took advantage of that organic matter that is now reaching the landfills, it would have a solution equivalent to 50% of that material that is being imported today.
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