FONTAGRO promotes a project on Nanotechnology in agricultural soil moisture management.
|
|
|
Research institutes from Bolivia and Ecuador are joining forces to carry out an initiative that will be financed with USD 606,221.
Soil is the basis of terrestrial ecosystems and agriculture, participating in nutrient cycling, water storage and infiltration, plant support and microbial activity. The progressive degradation of soils and desertification processes are advancing at an accelerated rate in the Andean region, reducing agricultural production and negatively impacting the economy of families. In addition, drought caused by climate change, which is increasingly frequent in the Andean region, has a strong impact on the lives of people linked to the sector.
In this context, research institutes in Bolivia (Fundación para la Promoción e Investigación de Productos Andinos) and Ecuador (Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias and Universidad Yachay Tech) have joined forces to carry out the FONTAGRO Project “Nanotechnology in agricultural soil moisture management“.
With funding of USD 606,221, the initiative led by researcher Pablo Mamani from Bolivia, together with researchers Frank Alexis, José A. Castillo and Yamil Cartagena from Ecuador, seeks to develop and implement nanotechnology to help improve the moisture retention capacity of soils and thus increase agricultural productivity and diversity in areas undergoing desertification and/or drought. The development and use of nano clays and hydrogels is a technological solution that responds to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and will benefit producers, students, technicians and companies in Bolivia and Ecuador, and potentially other actors related to the agricultural sector at the national and regional levels.
The project also includes training for local stakeholders, the dissemination of written and audiovisual material, the creation and use of digital communication platforms, and the generation of scientific articles.
.
More information.
|
|
|
Copyright © 2022 Inter-American Development Bank
All rights reserved.
|
|
|
|
***
About FONTAGRO
FONTAGRO was created 1998 with the purpose of promoting the increase of the competitiveness of the agri-food sector, ensuring the sustainable management of natural resources and the reduction of poverty in the region. The objective of FONTAGRO is to establish itself as a sustainable financing mechanism for the development of agricultural technology and innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean and Spain, and to establish a forum for the discussion of priority topics of technological innovation. The member countries are: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Spain, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela. In the last 21 years 167 regional agricultural innovation platforms have been co-financed for an amount of US $ 124 million, which has reached 452 institutions and 33 countries worldwide.
