Fruit Trees Innovation Network

Development of fruit production models adapted to regional conditions, based on sustainability principles, to support the modernization of Colombia’s fruit sector.

• Increase the benefit-cost ratio in the implementation of phytosanitary management actions within fruit production systems.
• Contribute to improving the quality and safety of fruit production through the implementation of integrated pest and disease management strategies.
• Develop phytosanitary management technologies with lower environmental impact for fruit production systems.

• Contribute to increased yield and quality in fruit production systems through the development and implementation of efficient and sustainable fertilization and irrigation practices.
• Incorporate soil and water conservation and management practices in fruit production, such as ground cover, contour farming, living barriers, windbreaks, and polycultures.

• Conduct risk and vulnerability analyses of fruit production systems in the context of climate change and variability.
• Incorporate climate change adaptation practices into fruit production based on the identified risks.
• Identify, develop, and implement low-carbon fruit production practices (e.g., use of associated crops, management of agroforestry and silvopastoral systems, efficient use of resources providing ecosystem services, productive reconversion, precision agriculture, co-development of technologies with stakeholders, and business/market management).

• Make available new fruit cultivars with regional adaptation and strong agronomic performance under biotic and abiotic constraints.
• Promote the adoption of new cultivars and rootstocks in fruit production units.
• Generate and disseminate knowledge and technologies that assess the productive, techno-functional, nutritional, and functional characteristics of Colombia’s diverse fruit species.

• Promote the use of new biopesticides, biological control agents, and beneficial organisms in fruit production.
• Promote the use of new biofertilizers and plant growth promoters in fruit production.
• Develop management strategies for fruit production systems that enhance the conservation of associated biodiversity and its ecosystem services (e.g., pollination, predation, parasitism).

• Develop and promote packaging, preservation, transportation, and short marketing circuit techniques that reduce fruit losses, access higher-value markets, and decrease the environmental impact and food insecurity caused by food loss.
• Transform fruits into products with higher demand, value, shelf life, practicality, and nutritional value to link small producers to value chains and reduce post-harvest losses during periods of overproduction.
• Add value to fruit biodiversity by studying its nutritional and functional potential, identifying pre- and post-harvest factors that influence these properties, and developing conservation or processing techniques to enhance functionality and bioactivity.

• Integrate the use of remote and ground sensors connected to IoT (Internet of Things) networks into research activities to enable real-time data capture and availability.
• Promote the use of artificial intelligence in developing interactive or visualization tools that support timely and accurate decision-making in fruit production.
• Design and validate affordable, low-cost, robust, and energy-autonomous equipment for data collection and production process optimization.

• Increase by 20% the number of effective national and international partnerships under formal agreements, aligned with AGROSAVIA’s role as a driver, stakeholder, and supporter of the SNIA.
• Increase by 10% the number of effective partnerships with actors across the fruit production chains to ensure the adoption of technologies.

• Integrate a gender and youth perspective into at least 20% of the research, technology transfer, and innovation processes within the Fruit Tree Network.
• Increase the participation of women and youth by 10% in rural enterprises through the development of technology-based agro-industrial processes for producing high-quality, value-added food products.

• Increase by 10% the number of technology adaptation activities focused on production systems in areas of family farming and ethnic communities.