Uribia and AGROSAVIA strengthen the municipal multipurpose nursery to promote food security and sustainable development in La Guajira

• The partnership established between the Municipality of Uribia and Corporación colombiana de investigación agropecuaria – AGROSAVIA constitutes a strategic initiative aimed at strengthening food security, climate change adaptation, and productive development in this locality of the department of La Guajira.

 

Agustín Codazzi, Cesar. March 11, 2026. An important component of this alliance is the development of a Yanama for knowledge management within the Wayuu Indigenous community of Ipashirra, in coordination with the technical team of the Mayor’s Office, as part of a capacity-building process with a differential approach. During this activity, the nursery's purpose was presented, seeds of forage, forest, and food species were displayed, and seedlings were distributed for community planting. Clara Rúa, Researcher at the Motilonia Research Center, highlighted that “Yanama is a Wayuu tradition that means collective work; bringing this practice into the field of knowledge management allowed to exchange knowledge and co-create solutions related to plant propagation.” Additionally, an in-person workshop was held on the preparation of Biol, an organic biopreparation made from sheep and goat manure generated in local production systems, promoting its use in the nursery and planting areas, with the participation of the Mayor’s Office, the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA, for its Spanish acronym), the National Police of Colombia, and educational institutions of the municipality.

Within the productive strengthening component, infrastructure repairs and the provision of inputs were carried out to consolidate the municipal nursery into a multipurpose space dedicated to propagating plant material and developing local capacities. The nursery was technically organized into germination, seedling growth and development, and hardening areas, in line with AGROSAVIA’s technological recommendations, highlighting the importance of a nearby water source and an adequate hydraulic network to optimize irrigation and ensure optimal conditions for seedlings. In parallel, progress was made in propagating vegetables and native forest species prioritized by Wayuu communities for integration into Local Seed Banks, promoting food sovereignty and biodiversity conservation, thereby using seeds previously evaluated at the Motilonia Research Center.

These actions consolidate the municipal nursery as a strategic space for producing plant material adapted to the dry Caribbean region, strengthen technology transfer, and promote the active participation of Wayuu Indigenous communities in the conservation and sustainable use of native species. The agreement between the Municipality of Uribia and AGROSAVIA reaffirms the institutional commitment to sustainable rural development, climate resilience, and the improvement of the livelihoods of rural families in La Guajira through solutions based on science, innovation, and local knowledge. In this context, it is important to highlight the commitment of the officials of the Mayor’s Office of Uribia, William Iguarán, Jorge Méndez, and Jorge Ramos, from the Secretariat of Productive Development and Environment – SEDEPROMA, in the implementation and maintenance of the nursery.

The operational agroforestry nursery in Uribia is integrated into the participatory research strategy on biodiverse arrangements that accompanies the release of a new common bean variety tolerant to climate change, currently undergoing registration, which is the main outcome of the project “Obtaining tolerant bean varieties KOLFACI ID 1001513.” Despite the impact of a cold front, the Agronomic Evaluation Trials (PEAs) registered with ICA were successfully completed in the municipalities of El Molino and Villanueva, La Guajira. In these plots, promising common bean genotypes exceeded the regional yields of 0.8 t/ha recorded for the species in hillside areas, reaching 1.2 t/ha. It is noteworthy that this would be the first bean variety registered in Colombia for life zones below 500 meters above sea level. The new variety, expected to be obtained in 2027, is projected to be integrated into the agroforestry systems prioritized by the communities of Uribia.

This alliance was developed within the framework of Special Cooperation Agreement No. 219 of 2025, signed between the Municipality of Uribia and Corporación colombiana de investigación agropecuaria – AGROSAVIA, in the context of the project F5 HEAT-TOLERANT BEAN VARIETY FOR THE CARIBBEAN ID 1002885, led by Researcher Adriana Tofiño, with the technical responsibility for the agreement held by Clara Rúa Bustamante, together with the interdisciplinary team composed of Jaime Arias, Germán Salgado, Guillermo Garay, and Luis García, who also supported the technical implementation from the Motilonia Research Center, a leading institution in agricultural research for the Colombian dry Caribbean region.