An unprecedented technical event was held on Thursday, June 29 at the Sun Monticello Conference Center; Cherry Tech 2023 brought together more than a thousand attendees who actively participated in the three masterclasses given by renowned specialists Carlos Tapia, Jordi Casas and Walter Masman.
Producers, technical managers, farmers, companies and various stakeholders from the agro-industry arrived early in the morning to participate in the largest meeting on cherry production organized by Smartcherry and Yentzen Group.
The host of the event was Gustavo Yentzen, CEO of Yentzen Group, who gave the opening remarks and was in charge of conducting the successful event.
“We are very pleased with the attendance and participation results, and we are even more pleased that the producers have had the opportunity to obtain information from the leaders in cherry production, and that, at the same time, the supplier companies have also been able to meet their commercial goals and expectations,” Gustavo Yentzen said.
Carlos Tapia, a specialist advisor on cherry production and co-founder of Smartcherry, was in charge of the inaugural masterclass, in which he provided a complete overview of cherry production, with updated figures and an accurate critical analysis.
“The event met all our expectations; since we launched Smartcherry in 2018, we were left behind with the official welcome event, then came the social outbreak, the pandemic, and once Smartcherry was positioned, we always believed that the event we had to do was already an upgrade from what we had thought; so it was a very good duo with the Yentzen Group team that has experience in all this, especially in agriculture, and we managed to do this tremendous event that we called Cherry Tech in reference to technology as well; without a doubt, yesterday's success marked a before and after in the agroindustry,” said Carlos Tapia, Founder and Technical Director of Avium.
The plenary session, which also included the other two masterclasses and three forums on nutrition, varietal replacement and post-harvest, was full to capacity. Both the masterclasses and the discussions had a relaxed and dynamic tone that kept the attention of the attendees at all times and offered a different format.
“We in the north do not have much information and these instances are super important; Carlos Tapia's first talk was spectacular, because it gives us answers to the concerns we have regarding why we produce cherries under the conditions of the north. It is very enriching to see the reality of this area in terms of having practically all production factors under control and we do not; without a doubt Cherry Tech has been a tremendous contribution for us and the industry in general,” said Jorge Astudillo, Production Manager of Agroindustrial Valle Arriba de Ovalle.
Claudia Soler, Executive Director of the Cherry Committee of Asoex, the association that sponsored the event, highlighted the event: “It was an event of excellent quality, all the topics discussed were very important, what we are looking for is to work on all the productive aspects that will allow us to reach our destinations with an excellent product.”
A panel of excellence
A total of 15 renowned cherry industry players participated in Cherry Tech; among them, Jéssica Rodríguez, Post-harvest Advisor at Trío Kimün; Héctor García, Co-founder and General Manager of Laboratorios Diagnofruit; Sebastián Johnson, Industrial Projects Manager at Johnson; Juan Puntí, Production and Post-harvest Export Manager at Prize, who participated in Forum 1: “Post-harvest: Key points and management experience to avoid fruit deterioration”, moderated by the advisor and consultant on deciduous fruit trees, Jordi Casas.
“I have a very positive assessment of Cherry Tech, it fully met my expectations, since fundamental issues were addressed in the marketing and production of cherries in Chile, which undoubtedly helps the industry to continue improving, so I hope to be able to attend again next year.” said Mauricio Gutierrez, Agronomist at Exportadora San Andres SpA.
Forum 2: “Classic varieties and new varieties: Are we prepared for the change?” was headed by advisor Walter Masman and included panelists Samuel Venegas, Agricultural Manager at Hacienda Los Quillayes; Oscar Aliaga, Consultant and advisor specializing in cherry trees; Matias Kulczewski, Advisor specializing in fruit trees; Dragomir Ljubetic, Advisor for stone fruit trees and table grapes.
“A very good event, very good exhibitors, focused on the new season and new varieties and that for us, the farmers, is more than good,” commented Luis Cadiz, Agricultural Manager of the Esmeralda Group.
Finally, Carlos Tapia was in charge of closing the day as moderator of forum 3: “Calcium and Potassium: their fundamental role in the productive potential, quality and condition of the fruit.” This discussion featured José Ignacio Covarrubias, Master of Science and Doctor in fruit trees; Rodrigo Ortega, Specialist in soil fertility, plant nutrition and precision agriculture; Valeria Lepe, Specialist advisor in nutrition of fruit species; Óscar Carrasco, Specialist advisor in agriculture and professor at the University of Chile.
During the event, there was also a special moment: the recognition given by the Cherry Tech organization to the Founder and Technical Director of Only Cherries Consultores, Oscar Aliaga, for his constant contribution to cherry production in Chile.
“I was very surprised, it was unexpected, but very nice and I appreciate it, it left me very surprised; I also really liked the event, with very good level talks and an impressive attendance, I really liked it,” concluded Oscar Aliaga.
Technology, suppliers and extension
Technology was a cross-cutting tool at the first edition of Cherry Tech, which featured extensive technical and human deployment in the plenary session, stands area, television studio, as well as in the space for posters; in this last sector, 19 interesting research projects were presented in digital format, allowing information on cherry production to be democratized.
“It is a privilege to be able to contribute to the growth of the cherry industry; the fact that scientists and researchers have been able to present their posters fills us with pride; being able to democratize information is a way of ensuring the joint and permanent growth of our industry,” commented Marie Bach, General Manager of Yentzen Group.
Attendees also had access to a wide range of services and solutions for the production of this fruit, with more than 60 companies present at Cherry Tech 2023.
“We had an incredible turnout of companies and we are very grateful for the trust placed in Cherry Tech; in addition to being an event with a purely technical focus, we provided an important opportunity for the agroindustry, where the different actors were able to converse, establish commercial relations, update themselves, debate, etc., and we were left with a tremendous challenge for the coming years,” reflected Jorge Tello, Co-founder of Smartcherry.
Cherry Tech 2023 was undoubtedly an unprecedented event; more than a thousand attendees were part of this unprecedented technical event on cherry production, whose second edition has already been confirmed by the organizers for 2024.
