Guadalajara, Jal. To offer more profitable alternatives to small agave, corn and milk producers that face problems to market their production, Jalisco Agrifood Council (CAJ) will start next February a crop reconversion program towards products such as Chia that have both national and international insured markets.
The president of Caj, Roberto de Alba Macías, shared with The economist That in the program Learn and Agroemprende, large industries producing the so -called “super -food” will participate, who will guarantee the purchase of crops, as well as educational institutions.
“We have been working for several months, to implement a program for productive reconversion that, on the one hand, can vocation the regions that have potential to sow crops that have a high added value, that there may be a profitability much higher than what Today they are doing and that we could have the accompaniment of the federal government for the rearrangement of the markets, “said the president of the CAJ.
According to the leader of the sector, the first superfiment that will occur will be the chia since unlike the cornthe cost of production is much lower and the utility is much higher.
“In the corn you invest on average 50,000 pesos per hectare and lose 10,000 pesos per hectare. In the chia you invest 10,000 pesos on average per hectare and you can earn 50,000 pesos,” said Alba Macías.
He explained that the project requires a minimum of 10 hectares that can contribute only one person or, join several interested parties and consolidate that surface so that it can be profitable.
Business participation
The president of the CAJ added that the agency works with several mainly Jalisco industries, to develop their raw materials, as well as develop products and by -products so that agricultural producers can have a greater participation in the commercial process and that they cease to be only suppliers of a raw material.
“All this accompanied by training, technical assistance, technology transfer and something very important that would be to have value -added centers that today we have two associated with the project, installed capacity for storage and logistics to carry out this project” , he added.
This collaborative initiative, said the leader of the sector, consists in motivating the new generations of producers and promoting a new farmer’s litter in productive regions from the university centers.
“All those students, interns, graduates of careers related to agronomy, agribusiness, international trade, being able to involve them in productive chains in which they can make their profession a company and with it, rejuvenate the field since the average age of Jalisco’s ejidatarios is over 70 years, “said De Alba.
Agroemployment fairs
Another of the program axes, explained the president of the CAJ, is to implement agro -employment fairs in which companies affiliated with the CROC and associated with the Jalisco Agrifood Council will participate, to cover the vacancies that are currently in the sector.
“A lot of labor in that region is required, the most important companies in the field of protected agriculture and agribusiness have the need today of just over 10,000 positions of all kinds of profiles, from farmers, administrators, financial, financial, “He said.
