Forbes magazine highlighted in a recent article that the digital revolution has also reached the countryside to transform the agricultural sector and fight against a possible food crisis in the world.
This technology, according to the media, is exemplified by geostatistics, precision agriculture for crop monitoring and integrated management of pests and diseases, machines for automated fertigation systems, research based on new data analysis methodologies, and crop systems hydroponics that work with automated methods.
In this context, in El Salvador, the presidential commissioner, Cristian Flores, recently stated in a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, Enrique Parada, that the country is headed for access to cutting-edge technology to develop agriculture and guarantee food security.
The official indicated that they have the support of the Mexican company CartoData, an expert in georeferenced intelligence, which could direct agricultural projects with state-of-the-art instruments and geosoftware, sensors, and georeferenced photography, among other top-level tools for agricultural development.
“After the rapprochement with the Mexican company that is an expert in georeference intelligence, we arrived at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) to project this technology based on the development of agriculture and guarantee food security, a commitment by President Nayib Bukele,” Flores said.
With this resource, Flores affirmed, it is possible to identify areas of the country with a greater potential for agricultural production, define the flow and quality of aquifers, the productivity of crop fields, and the concentrations of resources that promote greater agricultural production, among other functions, from the use of these technological tools and agricultural intelligence.
“The wealth of information obtained from drones, laser photometry, geosoftware and other innovative inputs, will make it possible to make more accurate decisions, projections and take concrete steps in all productive sectors of agriculture throughout the national territory,” he added. the.
In El Salvador, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) indicated that its modernization, promoted since 2019, has allowed, among other achievements, to have a more efficient system for the delivery of agricultural packages, subsidize fishermen and have more precise information on sensitive issues such as the impact of the climate and irrigation districts.
Also, from the National Center for Agricultural Technology (Centa), agriculture promotes, among other initiatives, agroecological technology, varieties of plants resistant to climate change and hydroponic crops. The MAG also reported that it has drones adapted to agricultural work for fertilization, pest control, and also to deal with phytosanitary emergencies.
For its part, Forbes highlights the example of Planesa, a Guatemalan company that is dedicated to the production and export of vegetables and fruits to the United States and other markets, has been using new technologies for some time throughout its production chain.
The company has invested in tissue culture laboratories to reproduce quality plants that are more vigorous and resistant to disease. The economic magazine affirms that they have access to the most important genetic banks in the world, which allows them to bring sterile mother plants that they reproduce in their laboratories.