Progress in Guatemala
July 23, 2007
As I informed all of you in my last
entry, the test products from Micnelf Company arrived last week in
Guatemala City. We did not realize that customs officers would be
surprised by the amount of products, which ultimately is not a large
amount for an eleven acre full year test trial.
The valuable lesson we learned from this incident was to double check each step of our project before attempting to achieve any goals in our Latin countries.
This is not a suggestion based in frustration, but simply an acknowledgement of the way life sometimes currently goes on in our countries. It is just a matter of getting use to giving some special consideration to the necessary steps of our project if we want to succeed in our endeavor.
Fortunately, we have the support of so many great people in Guatemala, starting with Miguelina, the owner of the farm, as well as Mr. Rodrigo Anzueto, who is the Director of Technical Assistance at the office of ANACAFE. Without his aid and guidance, this project would have ended before it even started.
We expect to travel to Guatemala the second week of August to help to put everything in place to get started on the Plant Nutrition project.
Additionally, I would like to introduce more information related to Balanced Plant Nutrition (BNP) that we plan to apply in Guatemala. This information is from Micnelf Company, who we purchased our products from for this project:
“The concept of Balanced Plant Nutrition is not a revolutionary one- just a poorly understood one. BPN is an integrated approach to meet the nutritional needs of the crop throughout its life-cycle. The focus of BPN is the sustainability of the agro-system. It encompasses the basics of nutrient management and nutrient balancing based on crop type, soil type and stage of plant growth to ensure optimal crop-soil-environment health. BPN does not stop at administering the BIG 3 (Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium), but also incorporates the use of secondary nutrients, micronutrients and organic manures.
Still, a whole century later we concentrate on the BIG 3 (major elements) to fulfill the needs of plants and humans! This has led to excessive use of NPK fertilizers, overuse of pesticides and insecticides, progressive environmental damage and a tremendous expenditure on the part of the grower among other problems.
Our definition of "sustainable" is an all-encompassing one. Used in an agro-system, a sustainable farm model should do many things. It should maintain the health of the farm, the productivity and fertility of the soil, the vitality and vigor of the crop sown, the well-being of the environment and, most importantly, it should maintain the economic viability of the farmer. ”
The valuable lesson we learned from this incident was to double check each step of our project before attempting to achieve any goals in our Latin countries.
This is not a suggestion based in frustration, but simply an acknowledgement of the way life sometimes currently goes on in our countries. It is just a matter of getting use to giving some special consideration to the necessary steps of our project if we want to succeed in our endeavor.
Fortunately, we have the support of so many great people in Guatemala, starting with Miguelina, the owner of the farm, as well as Mr. Rodrigo Anzueto, who is the Director of Technical Assistance at the office of ANACAFE. Without his aid and guidance, this project would have ended before it even started.
We expect to travel to Guatemala the second week of August to help to put everything in place to get started on the Plant Nutrition project.
Additionally, I would like to introduce more information related to Balanced Plant Nutrition (BNP) that we plan to apply in Guatemala. This information is from Micnelf Company, who we purchased our products from for this project:
“The concept of Balanced Plant Nutrition is not a revolutionary one- just a poorly understood one. BPN is an integrated approach to meet the nutritional needs of the crop throughout its life-cycle. The focus of BPN is the sustainability of the agro-system. It encompasses the basics of nutrient management and nutrient balancing based on crop type, soil type and stage of plant growth to ensure optimal crop-soil-environment health. BPN does not stop at administering the BIG 3 (Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium), but also incorporates the use of secondary nutrients, micronutrients and organic manures.
Still, a whole century later we concentrate on the BIG 3 (major elements) to fulfill the needs of plants and humans! This has led to excessive use of NPK fertilizers, overuse of pesticides and insecticides, progressive environmental damage and a tremendous expenditure on the part of the grower among other problems.
Our definition of "sustainable" is an all-encompassing one. Used in an agro-system, a sustainable farm model should do many things. It should maintain the health of the farm, the productivity and fertility of the soil, the vitality and vigor of the crop sown, the well-being of the environment and, most importantly, it should maintain the economic viability of the farmer. ”
