Participants of the Talento Agro program in Puebla seek to provide better support to producers

• A group of 34 professionals who perform technical work in the agricultural sector in Mexico are being trained by specialists in sustainable agribusiness from CATIE.

"This diploma will allow me to have more assertive communication with producers, achieving my objectives of supporting them in the development of their activities through better, more sustainable, and profitable practices," shared Luis Alfredo Guzmán, an agroecological technician working in the Technical Support Strategy for Production for Wellbeing, of the Secretariat of Rural Development of Puebla (SDR).

Guzmán is one of the 34 participants of the Talento Agro training program: Building skills and impact tools for managers of sustainable agribusinesses, which began on March 11, at the facilities of the Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER), in Puebla, Mexico.

Like him, field technician Diana Laura Rivera mentioned that she hopes the program provides her with the necessary knowledge to be able to convey to producers the motivation and security to achieve their goals.

Susana Acuña, a specialist in sustainable agribusiness from the Unit for Environmental Economics and Sustainable Agribusiness (UEAAS/EfD), at CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center), who was in charge of delivering the training along with Sith Ying Sánchez, highlighted that through this first session of the diploma, they seek to transmit knowledge that contributes to strengthening the professional profile of the agricultural advisors in Puebla, to become better trainers.

Acuña added that each group is different and that as facilitators, they made an effort to contextualize and adjust the content to be taught according to the needs of the participants.

"People in Puebla showed great interest in learning, so their participation was noticeable through questions, comments, reflections, and getting involved in each of the scheduled activities," expressed the specialist from the UEAAS/EfD, at CATIE.EfD, researcher at CATIE.

Official inauguration in Puebla

The inaugural event of the diploma had the participation of representatives from the SDR and the Vida y Campo project, who support the realization of this process, which is financed by the German Technical Cooperation in Mexico (GIZ).

Ana Barraga, executive director of the Vida y Campo project, mentioned that in the state of Puebla, there is a focus on promoting the transformation of the value chains of agave mezcal, coffee, cacao, native maize, goats, sheep, as well as beekeeping to make them more ecologically sustainable, socially fair, and resilient to climate change.