The growth potential of Colombian agriculture is enormous. During the 1Q 2017, for example, while the economy as a whole grew by a timid 1.1%, the agriculture, livestock, hunting, forestry and fishing sector increased by a robust 7.7%, according to figures from the Colombian National Administrative Department of Statistics.
Moreover, if we add to that the leading role that the Colombian fields must play in post-conflict, it is clear that there is a fertile ground for developing this branch of the economy.
The Colombian firm Sáenz Fety is aware of this situation and is investing in innovation to reap the full potential of the Colombian countryside and, therefore, its peasants.
"One of our pillars is innovation. We are in constant reinvention, we see that it is happening in different parts of the world to apply it locally" states Miguel Sáenz, general manager of Saenz Fety, a family company in its third generation.
In this sense, Sáenz Fety opens the doors of its Innovation and Development Center in Funza (Cundinamarca, central region of Colombia), a 'living laboratory' that allows people to know, first hand, the products resulting from its seeds for fodder and vegetables, mainly.
"When you sell seeds, you have to guarantee the farmer that it is appropriate and suitable for the field. That's why we have to evaluate it personally, we cannot delegate it to the farmer on his own. For this reason we have research, innovation and development centers in which we evaluate all possible products that we could market in Colombia, to be sure that they work" explains Miguel Sáenz.
In Funza, Sáenz Fety analyzes the seeds for cold climates, while for temperate and tropical climates he has agreements with national universities to carry out this analysis on the different thermal floors. With Los Andes University they collaborate with samples of diseases so that the students can analyze them and learn from them.
They also have an alliance with the Dutch government and Jorge Tadeo Lozano University (Bogota) to apply technology and produce better vegetables in the greenhouse; while with the Wageningen University (Holland) there is transfer of knowledge to small and large breeders about the model of milk production in that country.
This 'live catalog' of products is a pioneer in Colombia and is a tangible alternative for the country's farmers and ranchers to increase their production.
Those interested in knowing about this project and its benefits can visit Hall 3, Stand 302 of Sáenz Fety during AgroExpo 2017 trade show, to be held from 13 to 23 July in Corferias Bogotá, or also by entering bit.ly/diasCID.