The members of the Productive Development Commission of the Ñuble Regional Council, chaired by Eduardo Redlich, received a positive reception for the presentation of the results of the pilot project for the implementation of greenhouses with Israeli technology to improve the productivity of peasant family agriculture in the Chillán commune, an initiative promoted by the municipality’s Economic and Productive Development Directorate (Didepro) and executed by INDAP, with resources from the Regional Government of Ñuble.
In the instance, the director of Didepro, Renato Segura, explained that the project began with a pilot for Prodesal users to whom INDAP gave a $5 million subsidy to acquire 200 m2 greenhouses, which had a value of $6 million. He recalled that, although 40 small farmers were interested, the subsidy was obtained for 4 of them. Currently there are three in production and the fourth is in the process of being implemented for the production of hydroponic vegetables.
The professional stressed the need to extend this project to more producers in the commune, for which he invited the councilors to support the initiative that aims to generate a network of greenhouses around the city, so that they are capable of supplying permanently increase the demand for vegetables in Chillán and increase the economic value of agricultural land for small farmers. “We hope to achieve short supply circuits for agricultural products,” Segura said.
The cores learned about the experience of Óscar Quiroga, one of the benefited farmers, who revealed the advantages of growing under plastic and, in particular, greenhouse technology, which has allowed him to increase his vegetable production and income, with crops throughout the year.
For their part, the directors assessed the proposal positively and were satisfied with the results obtained.
The regional councilor, Alberto Jarpa, highlighted that initiatives such as this contribute to maximizing the use of water that in the area “is not scarce compared to Israel, for example, (country visited by a Core delegation) but is misused ”.
Meanwhile, the counselor Jezer Sepúlveda affirmed that this project points in the direction of “generating opportunities for all, which is appreciated”, especially favoring small producers.
Likewise, the counselor Javier Ávila, was inclined to support a proposal from the Municipality of Chillán, in the understanding that this can give people greater opportunities for progress and development.
In this regard, the director of Didepro pointed out the great differences that exist regarding production without greenhouses, and also regarding the precarious greenhouses that exist in the fields, as well as others with inferior technology to those acquired through the pilot.
Also, by virtue of the positive reception by the cores, he stated that they hope to present a new project to the Regional Government as a municipality, to reach more farmers with these solutions.
