Innovative water optimization technologies improve agricultural production and face variability and Climate Change in the department of Cesar

Codazzi, Cesar. April 25, 2023. Corporación colombiana de investigación agropecuaria, AGROSAVIA presented the results of the project "Water optimization and efficient land use to improve agricultural production in agroclimatic vulnerability scenarios in the department of Cesar," a project financed by the General System of Royalties. This presentation was carried out in the city of Valledupar before the external auditing entity Prodesarrollo and the Government of Cesar. The project is a benchmark in the optimization of water and land use in the production of prioritized crops and the use of new technologies that face the challenges of climate variability and change in semi-arid regions of the country, especially in the Colombian Dry Caribbean.

Among the most outstanding achievements of the project are the publication of five scientific articles and seven book chapters. In addition, the initiative has provided a research and transfer infrastructure of great importance installed in the Motilonia Research Center, located in the municipality of Codazzi. This infrastructure consists of a 30-hectare land area for irrigation and drainage, a 30-hectare central pivot, an irrigation mini-district with three automatic pumping heads, and central pivot, drip, sprinkler, and mist irrigation systems. A semi-automated greenhouse has also been built for experimentation in hot climates with a zenith opening and temperature control, a set of high-tech scientific and technical equipment, as well as a system of drainage channels and land leveling for agriculture. In addition, auxiliary power plants were installed to support the irrigation infrastructure and a covered warehouse for pasture and forage post-harvest. The project has also provided three high-powered tractors and a set of necessary agricultural machinery to use for sowing up to the post-harvest of agricultural products.

César Augusto Terán Chaves, Ph.D. at AGROSAVIA led this initiative as Principal Investigator Delegate (PID) and PI. The Motilonia, Tibaitatá, Nataima, Turipaná, and La Selva research centers worked together to carry forward these new technologies. Dr. Terán affirmed that "the success of the project is due to the articulated work of 32 researchers from the centers mentioned and the administrative and logistical support provided by the staff of the Motilonia Research Center." Furthermore, he recognized the essential local effort led by Mario Zapata, Director of the Motilonia Research Center and Claudia Ipaz, M.Sc. Researcher at the same center.

These results allow producers and technical assistants to make informed decisions and establish promotion policies at the territorial level. Dr. Lucero Rivera Delgado, a representative of the Secretary of Agriculture and Business Development of the Territorial Management Area of the Government of Cesar, was pleased with the results achieved by the project and stressed that "they will allow the establishment of policies for the use of resources for water and soil, and the promotion of irrigation and the technologies proposed by AGROSAVIA. In addition, they presented an important financial foundation for the production of the prioritized crops." Dr. Mirle Manchego Torres, Manager of Prodesarrollo's Audit, mentioned the importance of the project's final report and its dissemination in different scenarios.