AARFS works in cooperation with Eleven Rivers Growers on food safety

On Feb 15, the first Report of Activities from Eng. Marte Vega Román – Chairman at the Asociación de Agricultores del Río Fuerte Sur (AARFS) in his first year of office, was developed.

Eng. Vega stated that, in terms of food safety they have worked hand in hand with Eleven Rivers Growers, to provide advisory and training for fruit and vegetable exporting companies, so that they may comply with regulations and certifications imposed by the foreign markets, for which 7 workshops were lectured at the facilities of this Association, thus reinforcing the knowledge and skills of technical personnel responsible for these areas.

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In the same manner, he shared in his work report the important steps that were taken with the federal government in terms of public policies for the field, in conjunction with other important Mexican farming organizations, headed by Consejo Nacional Agropecuario (CNA), Confederación de Asociaciones Agrícolas del Estado de Sinaloa (CAADES) and other farming associations.

Due to the complex situations for marketing that Mexican Corn growers have faced, the AARFS adjusted prices of grain storage and marketing to support growers under this scenario; this is why the association has become the best choice for marketing the crops. Given the increase in Corn reception, the association expanded its storage capacity: some facilities were reactivated, others were remodeled in order to improve their storage capacity, and even others were leased, in order to provide its members with the service they needed, which allowed them to collect 220,000 tons of corn; also, 3,580 tons of flour wheat were acquired, and 1,400 tons of beans were collected.

The association is currently in works to complete the marketing of 100% of Corn reception from the 2020 harvest, for which the aim is to also increase the collection capacity of its facilities, through remodeling and mechanization of its warehouses. In the same manner, they are about to conclude building the center for grain collection located at Valle del Carrizo, which will have a storage capacity of 20,000 tons in its first stage. A project to be completed, which growers from this area requested over a decade ago.

This association is always promoting the development, so they have bean seed, bread wheat, and soy seed reproduction supported by certification bodies, such as Servicio Nacional de Inspección y Certificación de Semillas (SNICS).

In terms of sustainability, this body promotes farming – sustainable projects such as: campo limpio, biofertilizer production and the sustainable farming research platform incorporated into the Programa Modernización Sustentable de Agricultura Tradicional (MasAgro) and Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (CIMMYT) for crop optimization.

Eng. Marte Vega Román shared that to AARFS it is important, other than working for its members, to have a social impact; so they have had greater participation in events such as Expoceres. They also been working together with the Inter-Chamber Council in the “Por un Mochis más limpio” program, for flood prevention in the city through a recycling campaign and proper waste management; they were part of the organizing committee for the ¡Que Mangazo! event, and for the third consecutive year they participated at Congreso Nacional de Papa  and in the 29th Edition of Expo Agro Sinaloa.