Livestock and Agriculture in the Tropics workshops were held in the city of Tarapoto, organized by PERU-Hub under the direction of Engineer Esteban Altamirano, coordinator of the Extension Component. The workshops were aimed at producers in the San Martín Region, to be able to enrich their knowledge in animal health and soil management, as well as issues related to pest and disease control in cacao cultivation.
The Tropical Crops Institute (ICT) was the venue for these
theoretical and practical workshops that took place in September. These activities featured leading specialists who shared their knowledge and experience with the beneficiaries in order to improve the yield and quality of each farmer’s crop and animal production.
The workshops were divided into four modules, the first being “Good Livestock Practices”, where they reinforced their knowledge of pasture selection, pasture installation and silvopastoral alternatives.
The second module focused on “Animal Health in Integrated Systems”, where producers learned to identify infectious and parasitic diseases. Also, topics such as prevention and control, drug management, among others, were discussed.
“Soil Management” was the title of the third module, where beneficiaries identified the physical, chemical and biological properties
of soil. They also learned how to identify degradation indicators, determine the soil‘s capacity for use, make a good analysis reading, etc.
In the last module, they worked with cacao farmers on the “Integrated Management of Cacao Pests and Diseases”. In this activity they learned to identify pests and diseases, recognize symptomatologies, and determine preventive and curative control criteria.
“This series of workshops strengthens the capacities of farmers and ranchers, so that they can put into practice everything they have learned on their farms. Subsequently, they will be able to transmit the knowledge acquired by PERU-Hub to other producers in their environment, thus improving the production system, the economic and social growth of the producer and his community,” said Eng. Esteban Altamirano.
