The agricultural workforce required by cherry and plum crops is a concern in our country. This is due to a low availability of workers, little training, as well as a lack of productive systems focused on improving their efficiency. This item alone represents 60% of the total costs of production in Chile.
According to estimates, there are currently more than 40 thousand hectares planted with cherries, which are expected to yield 202 million kilos in 2017. This requires a workforce of 55 thousand harvesters, which is simply not available.
In 2014, the Foundation for agrarian innovation, FIA, supported the project: 'Development and Optimization of High Productive Efficiency Systems in Cherry and Plums', via experimental stations and specialized technology transfer. The initiative ended today when its executor, Patrick Espinosa, presented its results at the Union Club in Curico, and then went to San Fernando to visit one of its stations.
"The low availability of a rather low-skilled agricultural labor force is more and more evident every year in Chile. According to estimates, the country lacks more than 24 thousand workers in different cultures at a preliminary level. Other sources mention that there are 40% fewer people working in the fields than in the previous year," stated Patrick Espinosa about an article by Fedefruta. "The sectors most affected by this situation and that have the biggest rise in wage costs are the cherry, apple, and pear sectors," he said.
Researchers studied six highly productive efficiency systems for three years, with 20 producers in the VI, VII, and VIII regions, that have a potential plantable area of nearly 5 thousand hectares. In addition, the project had associates that are at the forefront of technological knowledge, such as the University of Concepcion, and prestigious researchers, such as Lynn Long, of the University of Oregon, Matthew Withing, of the University of Washington, Gregory Lang, of the University of Michigan, and Terence Robinson, of Cornell University.
The project included workshops and field days, where they transferred their knowledge to farmers, through the delivery of an innovative technology package. The driving systems developed in these crops corresponded to the KGB (Kym Green Bush) a pedestrian system par excellence, as 80% of the fruit is harvested without using stairs; UFO (Upright fruiting offshoot) which has an architecture that facilitates the systematization of pruning, trees formation and high efficiency in the water used; UFO V (Upright fruiting offshoot V) growth in "V" shape that favors the dilution of vigor in vigorous combinations, high productive potential and harvest ease; and SSA (Super Slender Axes) with a high number of plants per hectare; B AXIS of the SSA system with clear advantages in the decrease in the number of plants required per hectare, in the dilution of the force; and the TSA (Tall Spendle axes) which facilitates the regulation of load, which favors the caliber of the fruit.
"This project is aimed at domestic producers of plums and cherries, especially of the regions of O'Higgins, Maule and Biobio," stated Maria Jose Etchegaray, the Executive Director of FIA adding that, "the evaluation of six highly productive driving systems will allow them to systematize the work in the fields, reduce production costs - in particular those associated with labour - increase performance, and improve the fruit's quality, size, and condition, and have a business that is more competitive and better adapted to our country's current needs."
The main sector of the fruit-growing industry
In 2016, the country exported close to 95,000 tons of cherry, i.e. almost 14 percent more than in the previous year, according to the estimates of Fedefruta. During the last 8 years, the volume of shipments has grown significantly, despite the impact of the cold winters, the frost in spring, and the rains during the harvests.
In terms of markets, China is still the main consumer of this national fruit. In 2015, China imported more than 84% of Chile's annual cherry production.
According to CIREN - ODEPA's fruit cadastre, and the plants sold by nurseries in recent years, it is estimated that there are close to 30,000 hectares planted with this fruit in the country. Thus, based on this area and the exports of the previous season, the potential export offer estimated for the 2016/2017 season would surpass 220 thousand tons.
Maria Jose Etchegaray said, "many conduction systems fail because they don't have the necessary information that ensures the expected response under our climate, soil, and luminosity conditions, which are decisive in the productive potential of the orchards, their precocity, and the fruit's superior quality. That is why it is important to highlight these kinds of initiatives, which seek to support a very important fruit-growing sector in Chile," he concluded while highlighting the work of the private sector, the research sector, the State, and the active role of the productive sector in the implementation and Evaluation of the driving and design of orchards systems addressed in this initiative.
Source: diarioelheraldo.cl
