José Enrique Rodarte presents his Second Work Report as Chairman of the AARC

On March 11, 2021, José Enrique Rodarte Espinosa de los Monteros presented his second Work Report as Chairman of the 2019-2022 Board of Directors at Asociación de Agricultores del Río Culiacán (AARC).

He was accompanied by Manuel Esteban Tarriba Urtuzuástegui, Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock on behalf of the Governor of the State of Sinaloa,  Quirino Ordaz Coppel, as well as Gustavo Rojo Plascencia, Chairman of Confederación de Asociaciones Agrícolas del Estado de Sinaloa (CAADES); on behalf of the authorities at Asociación de Agricultores del Río Culiacán, Jaime Humberto Tamayo Félix, Treasurer, Francisco Campaña Acosta, Secretary, Carlos Borrel Bazúa, Commissioner and David Villarreal Gallardo, first deputy member, as well as the honorable advisors attended this meeting as well.

This report emphasized the activities carried out during 2020, a year defined by the start of COVID-19 pandemic, and in which the primary activity remained standing, despite the confinement.

In his video report, the AARC highlighted that, they remain strong as an Association; working hand in hand with their farmers and growers in benefit of the population in Sinaloa.

Similarly, he raised a series of activities and programs implemented by the various areas making up the association.

In cooperation with Eleven Rivers Growers – Veggies From Mexico, the AARC has reinforced for years the technical knowledge of the management personnel, in charge of the food safety and social responsibility areas of their partner farms, in order to promote Good Agricultural Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices.

In the area of Farming Strategies, a variety of activities intended for partners were implemented, which they were able to follow remotely in 2020. Part of the work was focused on developing individual and combined actions with the partner farms to act in the face of the contingency.

In the area of training from the association, there was a mention on the AARC summer 2020, in which they reinforced their commitment towards the members by displaying a series of online courses, in order to provide attendees with more practical information that enables them to become more efficient and reduce costs. A total of 11 conferences were held in cooperation with CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) and Tecnológico de Monterrey, attending over 205 people, and a duration of 34 hours.

In the shopping pool of farming supplies, consolidated purchases were made and with significant volumes during the 2019-2020 periods, in order to achieve the most available prices in herbicides for their partners and farmers.

In the Campo Limpio program, 151,923 kg of flexible material, PET, HDPE and Polypropylene were removed from collection centers in the 2019-2020 period.

In the Transformation to Sustainable Farming Project, alternatives for summer cultivation and crop rotation were evaluated, such as sesame, sesbania and white beans, which are defined by being crops resistant to drought. The project supported three barn farmers from the valley, with seed to sow such crop; in addition to supporting them with technical knowledge and field visits.

Together with Fundación Produce Sinaloa, we are working on performing scientific validations for the benefit of farmers and their environment, evaluating the various tillage methods.

In the same manner, the AARC works together with CIMMYT on the genetic development of blue seed, accompanied by a commercial development plan.

With regards to management and investment areas, in April 2020 the construction of a new 10,000-ton silo was completed, plus a wet silo in the facilities on Navolato, Sinaloa.

On social responsibility, the association developed the Manual of Good Practices to Prevent Coronavirus/COVID-19 in the farming facilities during the pandemic.

Similarly, the association provided donations to private assistance organizations such as Bomberos Culiacán, GANAC, APAC, and its Private Institution Profamilia de Jornaleros, received a 96% of these donations.

Also, they discussed the following programs: Tócate, an educational campaign for prevention and timely detection of Breast Cancer by self-exploration of migrating women in Sinaloa, an institution supported by Avon México.

Program of pantries to serve families of farming laborers.

Program of educational advisors and homework club within the housing facilities.

Permanent sports league program for members of laborer families.

La Ayuda del Campo, a Food Foundation which is born as an initiative of the Association, and its purpose is to bring food to the most vulnerable Culiacan and Navolato populations during the pandemic.

Cultivando Vida, an initiative presented by a group of horticultural businessmen, which has a support fund in benefit of  comprehensive protection of medical personnel that is currently leading the way in the battle against COVID-19 in Culiacán and Navolato.

In the Health and Social Security areas, the AARC has a team of 7 social workers whose function is to advise and guide workers and their families to access medical services; also, they advise and support companies in established administrative processes.

n the return to normality, the AARC got a PASE distinction, awarded by the Ministry of Economy of the Sinaloa Government, in cooperation with the State Committee for Protection Against Health Risks [(Comisión Estatal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios (COEPRIS)].

By the end of his video report, Mr. Rodarte emphasized that these have been two difficult years, in which defending the interests of farmers has been preserved as a priority, with the same effort in reinforcing the association so that it continues providing more and better services to the farmer; seeking to gain their trust through an honest, transparent and quality service, always standing in the shoes of farmers.

“Our activity became affected by the consequences; and despite of the health risks, we continue being responsible active, with the invaluable support of our workers, so that food is always on every Mexican table, and in that of our trade partners”, the chairman highlighted.

Photo: Bien Informado

To see the video report, just follow this link: https://fb.watch/4BCgKqt3dR/