Colombia: More than 100 potato producers in Boyacá are working together to improve prices and sales with government support.
This breakthrough occurred within the framework of the first Papera Associative Roundtable, which took place in the capital of Boyacá and addressed topics of great interest.
With the support of the Participation and Association Directorate of the Rural Development Agency (ADR), attached to the Ministry of Agriculture, more than 100 producers belonging to 50 potato associations in Boyacá took an important step toward creating a second-level association to strengthen the farming sector.
This breakthrough occurred within the framework of the first Potato Association Roundtable, held in the capital of Boyacá. Topics of high interest to the sector were addressed, such as the need to create a federation to represent the department’s potato producers before intermediaries, the establishment of commitments that generate benefits in terms of marketing and prices, and the strengthening of communication between associations and national government agencies.
Participating in the panel were potato producers from the municipalities of Turmequé, Cómbita, Siachoque, Ventaquemada, Belén, Tunja, and others.
Blanca Gladys Peña, representative of the paperos of the El Porvenir neighborhood in Tunja, highlighted the importance of these meetings:
"These meetings are very important, because if we’re not affiliated, we won’t receive any government benefits. We have to be part of the associations to receive our benefits."
Associativity strengthens the sector
The legal representative of the Agroindustrial and Livestock Association of the Pozo Negro district of Turmequé, Juan Carlos Herrera, believes this is a process that is being built step by step.
"As our president Gustavo Petro said, associations should be a stepping stone for agriculture and for organizations. Therefore, we need to organize ourselves to see if we can all manage and move projects forward, because independently, it’s very difficult to promote large-scale projects for Colombian agriculture," Herrera stated.
In turn, Mauricio Arias, legal representative of the Las Delicias Agricultural Association of the municipality of Siachoque, noted that associativity is essential to protect the sector in the event of a crisis.
"I would like Abastos to assign us, the cooperative members, a warehouse so we can deliver our products directly to the consumer. Because there in Abastos, the intermediaries are the ones who handle the farmworkers’ money," Arias stated.
Young people from the paper industry also participated in the technical panel, including John Fredy Fonseca of the Association of Rural Producers (Asopru), who highlighted the support of the national government.
“I think the issue of partnership is very important and should be strengthened, as long as commitments are made, not only by us as potato growers, but also by the Rural Development Agency,” Fonseca said. He added: “By achieving partnership, we can expand further.”
"As seed producers, we seek to market our seeds not only in our municipality, but throughout the entire region. That’s why we’re raising the issue of marketing and pricing, because there are many producers who don’t have that opportunity and are looking for good-quality seeds," he emphasized.
Finally, Wilson Gómez Úmbita, from the ADR’s Participation and Association Directorate, emphasized that this first technical meeting with paparazzi associations follows "the national government’s guidelines on associations, with the goal of strengthening the future of our Colombian countryside."
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