Fuente: DRII
The "Cacao for Peace" initiative, part of the 100K Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund and supported by the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Embassy in Colombia, has facilitated the collaboration between students and faculty from Colombia and the United States. Participants come from prominent programs with focuses on agriculture, the environment, and economics, working on joint projects. These projects promote alliances and inclusive exchanges around the cocoa value chain and its impact on peacebuilding and community development.
Universidad de La Salle (Unisalle), in partnership with Manhattan College (MC) and New Mexico State University (NMSU), has been awarded a 100,000 Strong in the Americas grant for their innovative projects:
• Circular Agriculture in Cocoa Production: A Sustainable Strategy to Promote a Healthy Environment, Food, and Life (MC, Unisalle).
• Utopia: Leveraging the Advancement of Rural Irrigation Systems in Cocoa Plantations Through International Collaborations (NMSU, Unisalle).
As part of this significant achievement, an academic mission took place from May 20 to 31 at Unisalle, Bogotá, and at the Utopia Campus, Yopal. Different allies, including Federación Nacional de Cacaoteros (Fedecacao), Luker Agrícola, Agrosavia, Jardín Botánico de Bogotá, among others, participated in the agenda. Additionally, technical tours were conducted at the Utopia Campus and cocoa farms in Villanueva, Casanare.
Students and faculty from Unisalle, MC and NMSU exchanged knowledge and experiences related to the cacao value chain, including production, processing and the transformation into valuable by-products, and other related areas about digital agriculture of irrigation in cocoa plantations.
Fuente: DRII
We hope that, through joint efforts and innovative partnerships, we will achieve significant impacts on agricultural development in the region and social inclusion. We are very excited to contribute to this purpose and look forward to many more collaborations of this nature in the future.
