As part of the actions to strengthen the cotton sector in Paraguay, on Tuesday (Dec 13) the Paraguayan Institute of Agricultural Technology (Instituto Paraguayo de Tecnología Agraria - IPTA) received seeds of four of Embrapa's conventional white cotton varieties validation and possible development of new varieties in that country. Paraguay is one of the seven countries that are partners in the Regional Project to Strengthen the Cotton Sector through South-South cooperation, conducted since 2013 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and by the Brazilian government, represented by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (Agência Brasileira de Cooperação - ABC). Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Haiti are also part of the project.

The seeds were delivered by the general-head of Embrapa Cotton, Sebastião Barbosa, to the director of IPTA's Hernan Bertoni Research Center, Juan Carlos Cousiño. Embrapa is a partner in the regional project coordinated by FAO and the governments of Brazil and Paraguay to strengthen the cotton sector of the country.

"The seeds represent the work of many years; they embody a lot of technology, and farmers need to have access to it so that they can have success in their production", said Sebastião Barbosa.

"With these seeds, we hope to count on good results in the next harvest", asserted Juan Carlos Cousiño.

The seeds will be used in three of IPTA's technical validation units in the departments of the Cordillera, Itapúa and Misiones, with the aim of analyzing whether the varieties can be adapted to local conditions.

Strengthening institucional and technical capacity

The regional project in Paraguay aims at strengthening institucional and technical skills that will allow smallholders to adopt innovative production technologies and to improve productivity and the quality of their products. Moreover, the project has a strong professional training component for technicians, who will work as multiplyers of knowledge for other agricultural extension technicians of the cotton sector.

"The delivery of these seeds is one of the important actions that have boosted trilateral South-South cooperation efforts between Brazil, FAO, and the government of Paraguay towards generating technologies that promote the strengthening of the area, which has such historical importance in Paraguay and creates economic and social opportunity in family farming in the country", said Adriana Gregolin, regional coordinator of the project.
 

With information from FAO

Translation: Mariana de Lima Medeiros