The producing girls of Antioquia, Medellín
The young producers, who are the only ones in the area of Medellín, report that the main difficulty they have had in the process has been that the cultivation of blueberries in Colombia is very new, so the agronomic knowledge about its development in a Tropical country is scarce.
Malena Novoa and María Antonia Piedrahita are two Colombian students of 2 ° year of Administration, that with 21 years each, are producers of blueberries in the Antioquia area, in Medellín, Colombia.
They were part of the dozens of foreigners who traveled to the 3 ° International Seminar, "Chile, leader of the cranberry industry: New competitors, new challenges, new strategies", which was held at the 28 in April at the Monticello Center.
They tell us that their field of 13 hectares is located in the outskirts of Medellin, in a rural area of Antioquia called La Ceja. The surface covered by the blueberry crop is 2800 mts2, in which 1000 plants have biloxi and 500 legacy plants. The crop has mulching, sawdust in the dish and a double line irrigation system. The property has three water sources and is located in a mountainous area, which is why it is not a flat crop. The climate is mild and temperatures range from 7 ° C at night, to 30 ° C during the day and full sun exposure.
Malena and María Antonia remind us that in Colombia there are practically no stations, there are constant rains, microclimates, weeds and pests, for this reason is that their field has a different management, including a white anti-insect perimeter mesh, an anti-bird and anti-insect mesh. red hail, and a weekly application of a mixture between herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and fertilizers.
- How was born the concern to devote to the cultivation of blueberries being so young and in a country without tradition in this area ...
- The concern to devote ourselves to the cultivation of blueberries arises in an international fair of commodities called Anuga, in Cologne, Germany, where the need and demand for this fruit generated us the curiosity to investigate about its viability and production in Colombia and the world.
- Where did you get your plants to start this venture?
- The one-year-old and 10-month-old in vitro seedlings were imported from Chile, from the Best Plant company. They arrived at the site three weeks before their transplant for a climate adaptation. At the time of planting, Basocote was applied, among other amendments made to the land, after the soil analysis. They are usually made a weekly application according to the stage of the plant, its sanitary conditions and some specific need. Mortality was around 6%. They started producing fruit three months after planting when they were about two years old.
From the beginning they have cultivated the Biloxi and Legacy varieties, due to the fact that they have not released the import of other varieties in Colombia, although they are currently very interested in the Duke variety.
The young producers, who are the only ones in the area of Medellín, report that the main difficulty they have had in the process has been that the cultivation of blueberries in Colombia is very new, so the agronomic knowledge about its development in a Tropical country is scarce.
The other difficulty they have to face is the fact that they are still in college and "Managing the time, the 21 years, between work, study and life, has not been easy at all, although it was too satisfactory", they tell us.
Regarding future plans, they add that as a rule of life, for them, no priority is discarded or subordinated to the others, everything is about finding a balance, "Our philosophy lies in the midpoints"they confess
In terms of the short term, they plan to accumulate and generate the necessary knowledge to become the depositories of this information and they will be the ones who will enact it in Colombia.
They have planned to import 500 more plants and get in contact with small Chilean farmers to buy fruit, so that they are not only producers, but also blueberry marketers, in the perspective of developing the market in Colombia, spreading the product and its properties beneficial
His long-term vision is to encourage Colombian farmers to grow blueberries "For mutual benefit and social impact", so that in this way the sector is developed and an important export base is achieved, since "You could have a permanent offer of blueberries in the months of the year where no other part of the world has a harvest", they say.
Source: Blueberrieschile.cl - Blueberriesconsulting.com
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