Interview: Gustavo Rojo Plascencia, President of CAADES about Expo Agro Sinaloa 2020

City of origin: Guasave, Sinaloa.

Career: BA in AgriBusiness by UAG

If you are talking about new generation, experienced growers, you must be talking about Gustavo Rojo Plascencia, the Chairman of CAADES; engaged in the agriculture sector for 20 years, he shares what it means for him to be leading the most important grower’s organization in Northwestern Mexico.

“I come from a family of farmers, I have a BA in AgriBusiness by Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara and when I graduated from school, due to personal reasons, I returned to Guasave; and this is when I fully devoted to agriculture. I have been working in the field for 20 years; currently planting corn, beans, chickpea, and potato; and I must say I do it proudly, as it is an honor for me to represent an organization such as CAADES which, other than being an organization full of history, we have stayed ahead, providing our partners with the best advisory and representation in the most critical times,” stated Rojo Plascencia.

One of the most important challenges for Rojo Plascencia as he entered into office as the Chairman of the most important farming organization in Northern Mexico was reactivating Expo Agro Sinaloa.

The Chairman of CAADES said that, for the last 28 years, Expo Agro Sinaloa has made history as one of the best agriculture expos in the country; remembering that this event started as a result of the trips a group of farmers used to make annually to different parts of the world; they used to visited tech expos and saw in this model the opportunity to replicate it in Sinaloa; this is why by the end of the 80’s here in Culiacan, at El Capule field, property of Gildardo Ureta Sánchez, Expo Agro Sinaloa was managed, originally starting with seed validation trials under a tree. Later, the Expo moved to Don Cándido field, property of Jorge Kondo López, former Chairman of CAADES, and this is where the agricultural exhibitions were developed to a more organized level; and in sum, Expo Agro Sinaloa was the signature of an important group of farmers, which used to gather as it has been the case until today, to make production costs and processes efficient, and reinforce the Sinaloa field.

Expo Agro Sinaloa 2020

Developing a complete reengineering to Expo Agro Sinaloa was essential so that the next issue is attractive both for exhibitors and for visitors.

“One of the most significant and tangible changes you will find in issue No. 29 of Expo Agro Sinaloa, is that we are moving to a different venue. This event used to be held at INIFAP’s Experimental Field; however, in order to recapture the essence of the event, the best choice is to carry out this event at the Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer of Fundación Produce Sinaloa. During the Expo, visitors will be able to appreciate the validation of grains and produce both in open field, as well as in the greenhouse, and they will also get guided tours, so they can learn about all the crop varieties within the Centre for innovation,” he explained.

Rojo Plascencia stated that this Expo is designed so that farming entrepreneurs, decision makers, and field technicians can attend and get trained within the 3 days of this event. Other than the change in venue, an attraction within Expo Agro Sinaloa is that there will be an area called “Innovation Hall”, where companies will be able to talk about the innovations they have developed. This is the area where the Agroinnova Award will be delivered, and an important group of growers from Sinaloa will define who will be the winner of such price.

A total of 145 companies, both domestic and foreign, will be gathered on Feb 5-7 for this event, including companies such as Bayer, Rijk Zwaan, Syngenta, Enza Zaden, John Deere, Case New Holland, Innovación Agrícola, among many others.

“The competitive advantage of getting companies involved within Expo Agro Sinaloa, is that we will be bringing closer the players of the agriculture environment; so they can learn about and invest in new products, such as seeds, machinery, supplies, tech applications, use of drones, photovoltaic panels, comprehensive solutions for water treatment, among many other developments. All of the above, in order to reduce production costs, whether from grains or produce, in addition to the strategic alliances that can be achieved in the short term between both parties. Another advantage during the days of this event is that there will be special promotions from our exhibitors, and there will be financial brokerage services, where you can access bank loans with a preferential rate; you may also access the panel program and keynote conferences, scheduled to train attendees during the 3 days of the event,” commented the Chairman of CAADES.

Subject

Without a doubt, the main subject of this new issue of Expo Agro Sinaloa is innovation, bioeconomy, and technology transfer, so that we are able to move towards a sustainable agriculture; where we offer our consumers with higher, fresher quality products, without losing our profitability as a sector; taking care of natural resources, and setting up guidelines that allow us to address climate change in a conscious manner.

Economic Revenue

Expo Agro Sinaloa is significantly important to an economic level in the state of Sinaloa, mostly in Culiacán and its surroundings; because thanks to this event, both the tourism (hotels, restaurants, transportation) and the research sector have an important contribution during the days of the Expo.

“In this reengineering, a part of our purpose was integrating the Hotels and Motels Association into CANIRAC, into Tourism, and to all the players involved, so that this event is a fully great experience. Thanks to the integration of the aforementioned we can say that, for example, hotel rates will have affordable prices; and in many cases, it was agreed that these include breakfast and transportation for the exhibitor and visitors, but just as them, all of the sectors involved in providing experiences to the visitor are ready to receive you on Feb 5-7 just the way you deserve to be served,” indicated Gustavo Rojo.

The Chairman of CAADES made an invitation so that more exhibitors may join the most important forum, generator of innovation and agriculture technology transfer in Northwestern Mexico.

For more information, please contact Miriam Velazco, Marketing Coordinator at 6671750695 or Claudia López, PR Coordinator at 6671023185.