Pollinating new generations: AGROSAVIA promotes rural education that blossoms among the beehives and forests of Caquetá

• This initiative not only strengthened technical skills but also awakened creativity and enthusiasm, ensuring that the new generations of Caquetá continue forging, through science and awareness, a sustainable and vibrant future.

 

San Vicente del Caguán, Caquetá. November 21, 2025. The closing of the National Rural Youth Strategy at the IER San José de Caquetanía, El Edén del Tigre campus, in the municipality of San Vicente del Caguán, was much more than an event: it was the celebration of a knowledge ecosystem that is already bearing fruit. Instead of a farewell, it became a festival of purpose and continuity, where the true protagonists were the children and youth who, dressed as worker bees, drones, and queens, embodied the heart of their educational project: beekeeping, meliponiculture, and community nurseries, productive pedagogical projects led by Corporación colombiana de investigación agropecuaria – AGROSAVIA and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The day unfolded as a tribute to the ecological balance of the Yarí area and to the promotion of intergenerational dialogue, where the youth, through phrases, poems, posters, and a colorful artwork created by teacher Andres, shared the impact of the work carried out alongside AGROSAVIA’s research team from the Florencia station. They did not limit themselves to telling the story; they lived it and represented it, showing how these small giants of pollination have integrated with the agroforestry nursery and the productive pedagogical spaces that today are seedbeds of innovation.

In this institution, located in a strategic area between the Chiribiquete, Tinigua, and La Macarena National Natural Parks, AGROSAVIA has left a significant mark on the region by building capacities that benefit new generations. Its focus on promoting alternative forest-use processes and implementing sustainable production systems is essential for empowering youth as transformative agents of the countryside. These efforts center on sustainable management and conservation of natural resources, ensuring a more promising future for the territory.

On the other hand, the region had already been advancing in alternative production and protection processes through the “Yarí Peasant Business Association – ASECADY.” This joint work has allowed peasant communities, strategic allies of AGROSAVIA, to become protagonists of one of the greatest conservation achievements. They not only cultivate the land, but also sow the future of the planet. Their legacy is remarkable: they have restored more than 60,000 hectares of forest and safeguarded a mega-biological corridor of 150,000 hectares that serves as a bridge between the Chiribiquete, La Macarena, and Tinigua national parks.

In this sanctuary, the roar of the jaguar has been reborn; the largest feline in the Americas resounds once again. “The jaguar means life,” says Don Manuel Torres Tarazona of ASECADY. This truth is the foundation of a transformative project in which 18 villages and more than 500 families have dedicated five years to deep learning; learning to coexist with the great feline.

They recognize in it an umbrella species, whose protection ensures the health of the entire Amazon ecosystem. By safeguarding the jaguar, they are not only protecting a symbol of the jungle; they are ensuring climate balance, water purity, and the richness of biodiversity for future generations. They are the guardians who weave, hectare by hectare, a mantle of hope for the lungs of the world.

These two seemingly different initiatives weave together the same hopeful objective. On one hand, AGROSAVIA plants the seed of knowledge and innovation in the new generations through beekeeping and meliponiculture, encouraging them to grow roots in the countryside with sustainable tools and techniques. On the other hand, ASECADY works to conserve the majestic shadow of the jaguar, a symbol of a healthy ecosystem. Both initiatives, though from different fronts, converge in a powerful vision: opening a path of protection and harmonious coexistence.

At this final curtain of the National Rural Youth Strategy, the closing message was clear and moving: “Do not leave us alone in this task.” A request that reflects not dependence, but shared commitment. It became evident that what AGROSAVIA planted here—knowledge, technology, passion, and innovation—has already taken deep root. A project does not withdraw; a path is inherited.

This initiative not only strengthened technical skills; it pollinated minds and spirits, ensuring that the new generations of Caquetá continue building—through science and awareness—a sustainable and vibrant territory.