On June 25 we held the first seminar in our series of 3 “DIDIHU TALKS “NEW NORMAL”, on the topic “The importance of AGTECH in the performance of blueberry varieties”.
In agribusiness, Mexico is regarded worldwide as an example thanks to its production capabilities, innovation in horticultural production, high-quality crops and, in recent years, its technology packages for berry production, particularly blueberries. Our guest at the latest webinar, Salvador Álvarez, an engineer and versatile agribusiness professional, blueberry variety expert, grower and pioneer of blueberry growing techniques at his “Las Pilas” ranch in Tamazula, Jalisco, shared his experience in Mexico's berry industry and how AGTECH packages positively influence the performance of different varieties in terms of productivity, quality and adaptation to the country's various geographic regions.
In this engaging conversation, which I moderated, Salvador told us: “AGTECH packages open up great potential for crop efficiency, because thanks to developments in protection, pots and coconut substrate, we moved away from extensive agriculture, where we used to measure results per hectare, to measuring yield per plant and being much more efficient with water and nutrition resources, achieving much more grower-friendly management.” Chava, as his friends in the agribusiness industry know him, explained: “About 5 years ago, roughly 75% of new plantings went into soil; today we estimate that 90% are established in soilless growing / hydroponics, which tells you about the adoption of a more profitable growing technique for the grower.” Salvador is passionate about agriculture, and his Las Pilas ranch has been a testing lab for trying out different management approaches. With that in mind, he shared how they have broken paradigms on his ranch, noting: “We haven't wanted to follow any particular pattern or rule. It's very interesting to see all the varieties in action in the same place.”
We both concluded that the industry's biggest challenge is achieving the quality the market demands and positioning value-added varieties in consumer preference. In market terms, we reflected that the category has great growth potential, considering the opportunity in the Asian market, varietal turnover (new varieties), consumption for disease prevention and room for improvement in crop quality.
Missed our webinar? No problem! Scroll down to find a summary of our conversation with Chava on our YouTube channel.
Our next DIDIHU TALKS webinar will take place on June 9, when we will talk with Raúl Mercado and Álvaro Espinoza about the opportunities in bringing technology to crop production to achieve higher yields in the short and medium term. Here is a direct link so you can register.
I want to thank the entire agricultural community in Latin America, who help us improve with their feedback, and Salvador, whose extensive experience gained over the years allows us to broaden our decision-making criteria.
By sharing knowledge and open innovation, we build a much stronger industry, flatten the learning curve, achieve higher-quality crops and become more profitable as business owners.
#GoAGTECH #GoBlueberries #LetsGrowTogether
