Organic and Agroecological Production Table

11 Nov 2020

The Organic and Agroecological Production Table has been working in Catamarca for just over two years, and last August of this year it was institutionalized in order to formalize and organize its operation.

The Provincial Directorate of Agroindustry of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, headed by Engineer Rocío Leiva, was appointed to coordinate the Roundtable and execute the necessary policies for the development of the sector.

The official stressed the importance of space for the Province: “This year Governor Raúl Jalil institutionalized the table, through Decree Agreement No. 1350/20, which will allow us to carry out lines of action and define public policies to specify objectives as a project of the Law for the Promotion and Promotion of Sustainable Production, Adherence to National Law 25,127 of Organic Production and to manage at the national level tools for the strengthening of agroecology in the province ”.

Producers benefit

One of the lines of work is to seek benefits for the producers of the different municipalities of the province who decide to add value to their production. “The main objective is to pave the way for producers in the process of transition from conventional production to agroecological or organic by providing information, training, advice and technical and financial assistance,” said Leiva. These actions are framed within the National Strategic Plan for the Organic Production Sector 2030 in which Catamarca is actively participating through this Roundtable. The guidelines defined in the plan will be the basis for the design of the Strategic Plan for local Organic and Agroecological Production.

Leiva highlighted the importance of participation in the preparation of the National PE to make visible the reality and needs of the province. One of the achievements of this articulation was the training of 20 professionals, who at the end of last year graduated from the Diploma of Production and Marketing of Organic Foods at the Faculty of Agrarian Sciences of the National University of Catamarca, which will allow producers local have professionals who work, supervise and certify the process of the products.

Public-private articulation

The director of Agroindustry emphasized the joint work that must be maintained between the public and private sectors: “The public-private articulation allowed the growth of organic production in the municipalities, allowing the organic production of the province to be made visible through the first Organic Expo and Agroecológica del NOA, within the framework of last year’s Productive Expo ”.

In turn, he added that “generally people think that all organic products are for export, such as olive oil, but this is not the case, so another of the axes is to sensitize the consumer through promotion and dissemination activities. as was done in the Plaza 25 de Mayo, Manzana del Turismo and the Fairgrounds during 2019, which allowed producers to offer their products in the domestic market ”, he explained. He also clarified that in the current pandemic context, national business rounds are planned virtually.

At the beginning of the Table at the end of 2017 there were only eight establishments or companies dedicated to this type of production, mostly olive trees and olive oils, while currently there are 31 working in organic production in an area of ​​3,400 hectares (in 2017 there were 1,800) in the different departments of Catamarca, and with more diversity of products: olive oil, sweets, nuts, aromatic, asparagus, blueberries, table grapes, wines and raisins, which shows the impact and growth that generated the coordinated work for the development of the sector.

Regional Table

Days ago, Catamarca was elected to chair the NOA Regional Board of Production and Consumption of Organic and Agroecological Agriculture in a meeting held by videoconference with referents from the local boards of the provinces of Salta, Jujuy, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán and Catamarca. In that order, Leiva said: “we will work jointly to strengthen sustainable agriculture and add value to regional economies with the stamp of a safe and healthy diet and in a network with national organizations that accompany the development of this production.”

Source: El Ancasti