The government of Antioquia in Colombia has launched a major programme to increase the region’s agricultural production by investing in state-of-the-art greenhouses.
Announcing the launch of the Eastern Technological Development Hubs, the Secretary of Departmental Agriculture, Rodolfo Correa, said they would contribute to the economic growth of the department – the second most important region in Colombia.
“Food does not grow in the supermarket shelves; we need to strengthen the agricultural sector and bring technology to our farmers,” he said.
“With the construction of these agro-technological citadels, Antioquia will, for the first time, have state-of-the-art technology in indoor harvesting.
“This will allow us to increase the productivity of crops such as tomato by more than 700 per cent, from 6kg/m2 to 45kg/m2. It represents a milestone in Colombian agriculture and a substantial improvement in the productivity of associations in the region.”
In addition to greenhouses, the so-called agro-technological citadels will house other necessary infrastructure and services to enable Antioquian producers to supply the international markets with high quality fruit and vegetables, Correa said.
With a population of 6.6m, Antioquia is the second most important region in Colombia. Thanks to its biodiversity, geographical location, climate and land availability, it has the potential to become a major source of fresh produce, both for the national and international markets.
The Eastern Technological Development Hubs form one of the pillars of the government’s “Unidos por la Vida” (United for Life) plan, which seeks to put Antioquia at the vanguard of Colombia’s burgeoning agricultural sector.
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