OIA supports pro bono in inspection, auditing, certification and training tasks in the Argentine Organic Standard, to accompany social integration and promote entrepreneurship in prison settings, through organic production.

On July 1st, at the facilities of the Ezeiza Penal Colony (Unit 19), the delivery of certificates to the students who successfully completed the 2nd Edition of the Organic Garden Course that was developed in said Unit . This is a project aimed at training people who are deprived of their liberty and the penitentiary agents of the Colony. Among the objectives of the training, the generation of healthy habits is contemplated, but the most important thing is the training of the inmates so that they can use and take advantage of the knowledge acquired as a future work tool, when facing life in freedom.

Another of the fundamental factors is that through this training, the members of the prison community will be able to supply food that is completely safe and without chemical and/or microbiological risks, healthy, nutritious, fresh, seasonal and of differentiated quality.

The president of the Penitentiary Cooperative Entity (ENCOPE) Inspector General Licenciado José Luis Guarino was in charge of presiding over the ceremony that was attended by authorities and representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Ministry of Social Development of the Nation, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Inter-American Commission for Organic Agriculture (CIAO), the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) and the International Agricultural Organization (OIA)

During the act, one of the interns who participated in the course addressed those present, who thanked them for the opportunity to train in organic production and promised to continue on this path of learning a trade, coupled with caring for the environment.

In the same way and continuing with this perspective, the President of ECOPE addressed those present to give words of gratitude for the great event: “what brings us together today is not only one more opportunity, but also has added value (… ) our gain as an Organization is that the inmate graduates with that knowledge, with the training received”.

At the end of the speeches, the students, agents and intern workers proudly received their diplomas, the result of the effort and dedication put into each class.

OIA carried out technical support and monitoring of the project, in addition to its own certification audits, in accordance with the provisions of Law 25,127 and SENASA. Today the results of all the work and effort are observed, with the harvest of quality products such as tomatoes (cherry, perita, platense), corn, squash, chili peppers, chicory, radish, beets, eggplants, squash (anco and ), rocket, lemon basil, lettuce, leek; among others.