18/7/2024
Nariño and Cauca: Advancing in the Path of Potato Productive Conversion!
In Colombia, potatoes are cultivated in more than 280 municipalities across 18 departments.
Learn more about the Master Plans for Productive Conversion at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mMNJiQUQug
Ipiales, Nariño, (@Minagricultura, @UPRAColombia, @claudialili76). "We had the expectation of what would come after the Productive Planning Plan and to understand the term 'conversion'. We thought they wanted us to stop growing potatoes, but we have clarified that it is about finding better ways to do it, continuing with the goals we set, and understanding that we are the main actors of this change. In a region like Nariño, which has always led these initiatives, we continue to build and believe in associativity and our potato crops. Here we are committed to working together for a better chain," explained Orlando Arévalo, a producer from the municipality of Pupiales and leader of several associations in Nariño, highlighting the importance of participating and collectively building the Master Plan for Productive Conversion.
In this regard, Alexander Rodríguez, director of Efficient Soil Use and Land Adaptation of the Rural Agricultural Planning Unit (UPRA), stated: "This session was held in Ipiales, Nariño, with the active participation of potato growers, representatives of associations, the Nariño Governor's Office, Fedepapa, the National Potato Fund, the Pasto and Ipiales Mayor's Offices, CorpoNariño, entities from the agricultural, financial, and agricultural input sectors, to address the rural realities of Cauca and Nariño and to jointly build a strategy that territorializes the initiatives proposed in the Productive Planning Plan for Colombian potatoes."
Meanwhile, Liliana Arévalo from the Environmental Sustainability team at CorpoNariño explained during the session why it is important to involve the environmental sector in these territorial agricultural policies: "We aim to harmonize the productive, environmental, and social interests of the potato chain, and taking this important step in conversion is not possible without the commitment of the 39 producing municipalities we have in Nariño."
It is worth noting that Nariño's annual potato production amounts to 778,791 tons per year (21.1% of national production), with 42,489 hectares cultivated. In contrast, the Cauca department has 4,888 hectares cultivated, producing 96,723 tons per year, representing 13.5% of national production.
Fidel Londoño Stipanovic, the leader of this process at UPRA, provided context for the activity: "We have traveled, along with the producers, through the departments of Cundinamarca, Boyacá, Santanderes, Antioquia, and Nariño. This is a participatory work built with all those who want to improve their activity, respecting knowledge, traditions, ancestral wisdom, and successful experiences, gradually incorporating new knowledge to build new techniques and paths on what has already been established. The expected results are: a technical document, a roadmap, and a map of productive conversion scenarios so that both individuals and entities involved in production can move from planning to action, thereby strengthening the potato chain."
In conclusion, Mauricio Ortiz, coordinator of Fedepapa in Cauca and Nariño, expressed: "We are a sector that leads these topics since we already have a planning instrument based on social foundations that allows small, medium, and large producers to improve their competitiveness, considering better phytosanitary, environmental, social practices, seed improvement, associativity, and strong alliances between the sector, producers, and institutions at both national and regional levels."
The productive conversion of Colombian potatoes: Actions to improve agricultural production!
Join the process here: https://upra.gov.co/es-co/Paginas/pop-papa.aspx
