Zenaida Alzaga
The Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) launched the Innovation Hub of Productive Plants at the Centro de Innovación e Integración de Tecnologías Avanzadas (CIITA), Unit Papantla, Veracruz, to generate productive agricultural projects, linkage and technology transfer that contribute to the development of the country's entities.
The Hub is made up of three Production Plants: Protected Agriculture, Processing and Transformation, and Packaging; the Green Biotechnology Laboratory and the Innovation Unit, all of them focused on promoting the design and construction of prototypes for agribusiness with the use of software, 3D printing, and computerized numerical control parts machining.
The Hub will support, advise and accompany the primary sector of the economy with the planting of products, their processing, and marketing, through alliances with small and medium-sized producers, industrial chambers, and sectors that require it. Through the Hub, the IPN will work in five areas: protected agriculture; green biotechnology; processing and transformation; packaging, as well as in the Innovation Unit.
The Green Biotechnology Laboratory focuses on making agricultural products resistant to herbicides, pests, and diseases, as well as the conservation of native species such as pink corn, vanilla, pepper, corn husk, banana, and citrus, among others.
CIITA links up with IPN units for research stays, product incubation and training on new technologies.
The Protected Agriculture production plant provides services for vegetable production and the transfer of technological packages for the same; processing and transformation that dehydrates food, grains, and spices, as well as the elaboration of flours and packaging of powders.
Through these processes, the Hub will perform the genetic improvement of seeds, generation of certified plants; the increase and improvement of the production and transformation process of goods for the agricultural, livestock, food, and service sectors; marketing channels, cooperatives, business training and linkage with local, national and foreign markets will be created.
In the productive plant of Packing and Packaging of agri-food products, powders, spices, and grains that are developed in the transformation plant, the merchandise is selected by size and color, before the drying process.
It also designs prototypes to provide solutions to the agro-industry and has a Business Center that collaborates in the creation of productive projects for the development of the region and the strengthening of technological entrepreneurship.
CIITA maintains links with units of the Politécnico for research stays, product development or incubation, and training in new technologies, among other actions.
The processing of banana flour to produce plastic is one of the projects being carried out in coordination with the Center for Research in Applied Science and Advanced Technology (CICATA), Legaria Unit.
They also work with linkage centers in Oaxaca, Campeche, Cancun, Durango, and Tlaxcala, to promote products through technology transfer.
During the inauguration of the Hub on February 17, IPN General Director Arturo Reyes Sandoval emphasized that, through technology transfer, this university will help to preserve and conserve natural resources in productive processes, because the environmental crisis mainly affects the sectors that live in poverty and suffer marginalization worldwide.
"Papantla is synonymous with growth, driven by hardworking people who strive every day to give added value to the planting and harvesting of farm products," he said.
CIITA is a clear example of cooperation between the government and higher education institutions, and the productive sector.
This center represents an amalgam between producers and public and private industry by strengthening the productive value of the field and its care.
For his part, the Secretary of Innovation and Social Integration of the Politécnico, Ricardo Monterrubio López, said that Papantla is the window and door of the entire Institute to support the region and achieve social development, seeking sustainability and sustainability.
Therefore, CIITA is a clear example of cooperation between the government and educational institutions, such as the Politécnico, with the productive sector.
The head of CIITA, María Angélica Hernández Ávila, pointed out that they are working with the region's businessmen to promote tourism, through the development of a distinctive seal that will make it possible to boost this sector of the economy, through the creation of a tourist corridor with the support of hotel chains.
In addition, the creation of a pineapple or rubber cluster is planned, through territorial diagnoses to promote the sectors that require it in the entity. Zenyazen Escobar García, Secretary of Education of Veracruz and representative of the state governor, Cuitláhuac García Jiménez, highlighted the link between the IPN, micro and large entrepreneurs, as well as producers from different regions of the state, which will benefit the economic development of the entity.
Papantla is synonymous of growth, led by a hard-working people: Arturo Reyes Sandoval, head of IPN
For this reason, he added, the governor is promoting actions to ensure that the population has equal access to education for men and women, with the strengthening of the Telebachillerato system, which is being successfully implemented both in the state and at the national level.
Evaristo Ovando Ramírez, Secretary of Agricultural, Rural and Fishing Development of the entity, highlighted the importance of the presence of the Politécnico in the entity because they support with their knowledge in agricultural matters, which benefits the producers of vanilla, citrus, or forestry, for example.
He recalled that the Institute's contributions in terms of knowledge transfer and research are of great relevance for producers and micro-entrepreneurs because they have been able to reduce costs and obtain certifications.
CIITA has a plant for the dehydration of organic products, some for human consumption, such as pepper and vanilla, and others such as orange peel and seeds for livestock feed or supplement, to support the transformation of its products and give them greater added value.
This is an electric conversion equipment with fans inside the chamber that allow the circulation of hot air; its function is to dehydrate and dry the products at a low cost and with the necessary safety to avoid contamination.
It can dehydrate up to 450 kilograms of the product (in its green state) throughout the year, 24 hours a day, and adapts to seasonal cycles. The center's Applied Research Coordinator, Francisco Javier Picaso Castañeda, explained that they maintain links with livestock and social organizations of the basic line production sector, mainly pepper, tomato, vanilla, and ginger.
This will make it possible to add greater value to their goods and to work with agricultural residues, which lose their economic value at the end of the process.
Citrus growers, such as orange growers, are supported in the separation of the sap and peel, which can be used as feed or supplement for cattle during the dry season, but at a low cost.
The region's agricultural products are seasonal. The pepper harvest begins in September and October; vanilla begins in December and January, and the products of the juice plantations are harvested between January and February, on average.
The center's experts are conducting tests on the management of substrates with dead soils (lacking nutrients), such as tepetate, for planting tomatoes in semi-technified greenhouses that allow temperature and humidity control, which is known as protected agriculture.
Mr. Picaso Castañeda said that the tomato plant is very sensitive to humidity, which causes fungi and other diseases that affect its production. In the production scheme, they use compost from grass-cutting waste and nourish the soil with organic leachates from earthworms to neutralize pathogens and insects that prevent the plant's development. In addition, they sterilize the soil and do not use chemicals for fertilization.
The center is working on the development of alternatives for farmers to plant their fruits in any type of soil. This is why it is important to identify inert soil because it does not have the characteristics to support crops since it is very compact and does not generate the aeration necessary for them.
Therefore, the polytechnicians began working with controlled agriculture to stabilize the soil, which is achieved by watering the soil with hot water and sterilizing the soil with a mixture of chlorine.
Subsequently, they planted the tomato plant with a natural rooting agent (a mixture of sap and aloe vera) diluted in water, which prevents it from solidifying and growing.
Picaso Castañeda indicated that they also work with the leachates produced by earthworms, which provide nitrogens, oxygen, and natural phosphorous that the earthworm itself generates in the soil, and which give rise to the growth of the plant.
They also use coconut husks that function as a sponge to carry out hydroponic processes to feed the plant. Due to the characteristics and climate of the region, there is no tomato variety. Growers have technified greenhouses, but lack mechanisms to control humidity.
Producers in the Papantla, Poza Rica, and Tuxpan areas are interested in working with CIITA's technology for planting and marketing the fruit since they only have the infrastructure for fodder or ornamental trees.
For this reason, they are already forming technological packages with training, with input formulas for the nutrition and health of the plants for the development of the automatic tomato production technique in these regions of the entity, which will lower operating costs so that the population has access to chemical-free food.
Tomato planting is performed in semi-technified greenhouses that allow temperature and humidity control for the optimum growth of this plant.
The fat pepper is an endemic species found in the state of Veracruz at 1,800 meters above sea level, even at 800 or 200 meters above sea level. Its flowering varies according to the topographic and climatic conditions of the different regions of the state.
The ripening of the condiment begins in the May-June period; it is harvested in September-October, and approximately, between two to three years the bunches grow, which have 8 to 9 peppers, for cutting.
Traditionally, a batch takes between 8 and 10 days to dry, and with the support provided by the Polytechnic, the process is reduced from 18 to 24 hours to dehydrate.
Óscar Salustio Ramírez Gómez is the owner of Morena Mía, Vainilla de Papantla, where about 10 families work. Those who work in this company participate in the cultivation, maturation of the pods, as well as cutting and drying.
"With the technological support provided by Politécnico, the vanilla drying process was reduced, which has allowed us to increase its value, improve marketing lines, and lower costs. I invite producers to approach the Institute because they will find technology and support to process their goods," said Ramírez Gómez.
"Two years ago I approached CIITA to reduce the vanilla drying process, which took two months, depending on weather conditions. Its production involves hard work: planting, growing (in four years), ripening, green cutting in the period from December to February, and drying in the sun," he added.
With the support of the Institute's experts, the drying time of the pods was reduced from two months to 15 days, thanks to a drying and dehydrating machine that operates 24 hours a day, which allowed them to reduce costs by up to 80 percent and add greater value to the goods derived from the orchid.
He emphasized that their ancestors inherited the cultivation of the plant to obtain its derivatives, which are used in haute cuisine as an ingredient to make desserts, sauces, and various quality products for export and domestic consumption.
With the technological support of Politécnico, the vanilla of the Morena Mía company has increased its value and has improved the lines of commercialization and lowered costs.
Roberto Rocha Ríos is the general director of the Citrícola Cooperativa de Castillo de Teayo, a company, located in the municipality of the same name and dedicated to the production of Valencia oranges.
"We approached the Politécnico to innovate and streamline our production processes, and they guided us on the use of organic fertilizers that do not harm the field and consumers, since 90 percent of the municipality's economy depends on citriculture," explained Rocha Ríos.
He explained that they approached the Politécnico two years ago since market requirements forced them to find their identity, to improve their procedures, which has allowed them to place the municipality of Castillo de Teayo in fifth place in terms of production of this fruit at the national level, because it grows naturally in the tropics and in places where there is constant rainfall.
With this support, they were able to increase production from 20,000 to 50,000 tons per year and signed contracts with transnational companies such as Jumex, which employ approximately 6,000 people.
By approaching the Politécnico to innovate and make production processes more efficient, orange production was increased from 20,000 to 50,000 tons per year.
Juan Carlos Jiménez Casas represents the company Aguaxaca, which manufactures water bottles with bioplastic. He explained that they acquire virgin PET (polyethylene terephthalate) which they inject into special machines in charge of making the perform; it is introduced into an oven and then into a blowing machine to transform it into a water bottle.
"We approached the IPN business incubator to meet the needs of the market in terms of supplying water bottles, and reducing transportation and production costs for the benefit of the people of the region," said Jiménez Casas.
He commented that the containers marketed in the area come from Mexico City and Jalisco, a situation that increases the final prices to the consumer because the transportation cost is high.
Approximately three years ago, they approached CIITA, and the business incubator carried out a mapping of the company and market studies, to reduce administrative and logistical costs, among others.
With the alliance they have with Politécnico, they can transport seven thousand preforms of the containers, and shortly, the production of the lid and handle with biodegradable material is also planned. This will reduce costs for the company, benefit consumers, and cover the demand for containers in the Veracruz region.
With the IPN business incubator, Aguaxaca was able to reduce the transportation and production costs of the bottles for the benefit of the region's inhabitants.
For five generations, Norma Gaya Goldaracena's family has been dedicated to planting, industrializing, and exporting vanilla products and derivatives, as well as handicrafts.
"With the support of the Politécnico, we were able to develop software to credential the vanilla producers, to know the needs of the plantations, the situation of the families involved or the language they speak, which has allowed us to improve our production and export processes of the pod," said Gaya Goldaracena.
The company is based in the city of Gutiérrez Zamora, Veracruz, and about a year ago they approached CIITA to help them create a software that would allow them to know the real situation of the pod planting, i.e., the time of flowering of the orchid, its diseases and the families that depend on this practice, among others, in order to improve the processes of processing it, actions that, so far, have been able to register a thousand commercial producers.
Also with the support of the Politécnico, they created the first vanilla school in Mexico, with the participation of this company, the Mexican Center for Vanilla Research, as well as, the Center for Research and Innovation for the Field, to provide specialized courses about the plant.
Norma Gaya indicated that the IPN was in charge of certifying the school's instructors and giving official validity to the courses and workshops taught, and since its opening, it has been very well received by national and foreign producers.
He emphasized that IPN's support allows them to provide a better service to the country's producers, and "helped us to turn the company around 180 degrees".
For five generations, Norma Gaya's family has been dedicated to the cultivation, industrialization, and export of vanilla products and derivatives.
Fernando Medina, commercial director of Innova Orgánica de México, manufacturer of NutriLix, a 100% natural organic fertilizer used to control pests, insects, fungi, and worms biologically, said that they approached the Politécnico to validate the results of the studies for the control of HLB in citrus.
He explained that HLB is a citrus pest known as Huanglongbing, which prevents the feeding of citrus trees, and with the support of the IPN, they have managed to apply this technology in the field, allowing nutrients to reach the trees.
"With CIITA's support, we have managed to transfer technology and link up with companies in the region so that they can produce their food in a sustainable and better quality manner, which will allow them to reduce costs in their processes."
Also with CIITA's assistance, they have been able to transfer their technology in the northern part of the state, mainly to orange farmers, to increase their production efficiently and sustainably.
The company uses one hundred percent natural products, which are applied through a process of soil mineralization with elements containing L-alpha amino acids that are converted into proteins and enhance plant nutrition.
With the support of IPN experts, the company has established links with small and large agroindustrial producers so that they can learn about its products validated by the Institute, which will bring them economic benefits.
Gaceta Politécnica #160. 2023, March 31th. IPN Imagen Institucional
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