"Today, more than ever before, there is a need to incorporate technologies in the field that allow making decisions."
An initiative funded by Corfo and executed by Asoex and with the Universidad Católica del Norte (UCN), carried out within the framework of the Fortalece Pyme Coquimbo program, will allow citrus growers from Coquimbo to estimate the calibers of their production. This will increase the efficiency and quality of the processes and allow them to carry out better commercial programming of their future crops.
This technology being tested in the fields of the Coquimbo region lets producers know if the fruit will be large enough for export, a very valuable information that allows the producers to make decisions regarding the production, process, logistics, and commercial programs in the target markets in a timely manner.
According to Cristian Sotomayor, the director of promotion of ASOEX in Coquimbo and manager of the Fortalece Pyme Coquimbo program, the digital scanning of calibers is a cutting-edge technology that has been successfully employed in different export crops. “We have seen that the companies that have successfully implemented this tool have managed to adjust their technical management in a timely manner and more accurately project how long the harvest will last, their export volume, commercial commitments with customers, and how much refrigeration space and maritime freight they need, which undoubtedly translates into greater efficiency, lower production costs, and a more fluid and reliable export process for customers.”
Digital caliber estimation uses cameras and image processing software to measure and classify fruit. The cameras capture images of the fruit and the software processes the images to determine their size, shape, and quality.
"Today, more than ever before, there is a need to incorporate technologies in the field that allow producers to make management decisions based on evidence and quantitative data. When producers can better estimate their harvest they can improve their production processes and design more efficient and realistic harvest campaigns, optimizing and adapting better to the availability of resources, especially water availability, which is a vital resource for food production in the Coquimbo Region,” added the regional director of Corfo, Andrés Zurita.
Source: simfruit.cl
