From the North, Center, and South of Colombia, AGROSAVIA participated in the XXIV Latin American Soil Congress in Bolivia

Codazzi, Cesar. July 3, 2025. AGROSAVIA was present at the XXIV Latin American Congress of Soil Science, held in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. The event included the participation of Senior Ph.D. researcher Martha Marina Bolaños Benavides, Head of the Department of Sustainable Intensive Production at the Tibaitatá Research Center (Mosquera – Cundinamarca) and President of the Colombian Society of Soil Science (SCSC), who was invited as a keynote speaker; Ph.D. researcher Juan Guillermo Cubillos Hinojosa from the Motilonia Research Center (Codazzi – Cesar), Executive Secretary of the SCCS, who gave a keynote lecture; and Master’s researcher Diego Leonardo Cortés Delgadillo from the Obonuco Research Center (Pasto – Nariño), who presented two oral papers.

Researcher Bolaños Benavides delivered the keynote lecture "Soil biodiversity: challenges and perspectives," where she presented the composition and functions of soil biota, the challenges or limitations faced by soil biodiversity, and the perspectives on the efficient use and management of soil biodiversity, integrated into sustainable soil resource management practices. The presentation highlighted research results from AGROSAVIA in different soils across the country and in productive systems such as avocado, cocoa, guava, plantain, and pastures.

Meanwhile, researcher Cubillos presented the keynote lecture "Sustainable strategies for the production of drought-tolerant beans in the Colombian Dry Caribbean," where he shared the results of a review of sustainable production strategies available for beans in dry areas of Colombia. The focus was on biofertilizers based on rhizobia and other plant growth-promoting bacteria, as well as biostimulants such as humic substances. This research is part of the results of the drought-tolerant bean project funded by KoLFACI.

Researcher Cortés Delgadillo presented two oral papers. The first, titled "Spatial diagnosis of soil fertility in cocoa-growing areas of Catatumbo, Colombia," showed the current status of soil nutrients in cocoa-cultivated soils in the Catatumbo region—a region marked by various socio-environmental conflicts, where cocoa is emerging as a crop for transition and post-conflict. This presentation showed partial results of the project "Improvement of environmental sustainability through the implementation of technologies within the national strategy for cocoa cultivation," funded by the Portugal Environmental Fund.

The second paper presented by Cortés Delgadillo was "Functional characterization of soils for productive reconversion in La Cruz, Nariño, Colombia," which showed results from the project "Design of a productive reconversion plan in the buffer zone of the Doña Juana Páramos Complex, department of Nariño, within the framework of national public policies," developed by AGROSAVIA as part of the DRET II program and funded by the European Union (EU), the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This presentation showed the current state and various soil management activities implemented by livestock farmers and family farmers of Achira and Frutales in the municipality of Nariño, as well as the limitations and recommended practices for soil use in these productive systems.