On August 3, a new version of the Agricultural Water Summit (AWS) was held at the Sun Monticello Conference Center. The event brought together the most relevant speakers on water and how to deal with water scarcity and was attended by more than 650 people.
In addition, Water Summit included a stand area where our partners were present, showcasing their solutions and products for the agroindustry.
“It is a very good opportunity to put the water issue on the table. We have been suffering from it for quite some time, so I think it is a responsibility to be involved with the water issue and with this type of activity so that the industry knows the tools that exist to address these challenges, to quantify, measure, supervise, have numbers, have information to make decisions on an issue that is becoming more and more sensitive.”, said Gabriel Gajardo, Commercial Director of AG Business and partner of Smartcherry.
AWS was the epicenter of discussion and analysis where experts from different areas of the agricultural sector, industry leaders, companies and countries met to discuss the current situation and future challenges related to water.
“It is very important, since it is an event, in particular, focused on water; those who have needs regarding water, one option is to attack the water demand, to see if one can reduce water consumption, where there are many companies linked here looking at irrigation sensors and another way is to see the availability of water, and that is what we do, to see if a field with water needs can be irrigated with groundwater. That is what we are looking for here, people who are facing this problem,” said Daniel Cabrera, Commercial Manager of Aquadetect.
Ceres, an aerial imaging company that offers irrigation management solutions to help farmers improve profitability and which recently joined Smartcherry, was another of the 40 companies present at the Agricultural Water Summit.
“For Ceres, all water resources are important. So we want to show producers in Chile that with aerial images you can work better in the fields and be able to use resources in a better way. (This event is) extremely relevant, it is the public we are looking for, it is the producer who has problems or can realize that he has problems in the field or it is the producer who wants to understand that today resources are scarce and that they must be used in a better way,” said Vicente Traviesa, Account Manager for Latin America at Ceres Imaging.
Corteva, for its part, also participated in the Agricultural Water Summit, an event that is in line with the company's commitment.
“It is very important for Corteva to participate in Water Summit because Corteva is concerned about sustainability. Not only in production, but in people, the ecosystem, how we generate value on a global level, not just staying in the small. So climate change, environmental change is fundamental in a company like this, in addition, it is (an event) fundamental and there are many producers who are updating themselves on these issues, because technology is key to staying in time, in a sustainable and sustainable way,” said Elisa Cabrera, Market Developer VI Corteva region.
Innovak, a company with extensive experience in radical biostimulation, was another of Smartcherry's partners that was present at AWS; Sergio Osorio, Regional Leader of Innovak Global, referred to the relevance of participating in the important event.
“Our product line is biostimulation, so in a way it might not be understood why we are working with lines linked to water use efficiency, but our product, which is a soil conditioner called Promesol, thanks to the experiences we have had with the farmers themselves, has shown us that by flocculating the soil and flocculating in the way the product does, we have been able to improve the efficiency in water use, saving irrigation time as well as making irrigation more effective, that is, watering the same amount but making a better distribution and depth of application.”
Among other topics, the Agricultural Water Summit analyzed international experience and success stories in dealing with drought and ensuring water security by 2050, providing innovative solutions and cutting-edge technology that is already being used for the management, preservation and reuse of water in agriculture.
In this context, Caio Vechiato, director of operations for Latin America at AgroFresh, said: “Water is a precious commodity that is limited and AgroFresh is committed to the sustainability of our clients and water conservation. Our equipment can save a lot of water consumption in the industry and we have a lot to contribute. This is very important and is a priority for AgroFresh,” he commented.
Finally, WiseConn also referred to the event that brought together the agroindustry around the challenge of facing the water crisis and achieving more sustainable agriculture: “We are very happy to participate in Water Summit 2023 with our company that monitors and controls irrigation, and the idea is that we want to promote more sustainable agriculture with efficient use of water,” concluded Karina Alegría, Marketing Specialist Latam at WiseConn.
