GAF
Escambray Villa Clara Luminaire
The Jibacoa Agroforestry Experimental Station of Manicaragua, Villa Clara, contributes with its scientific work to the national coffee revival through its projects.
From the Jibacoa Agroforestry Experimental Station in Manicaragua, Villa Clara radiates light to the national coffee growing. The institution is distinguished by its work in the development of various projects aimed especially at the development of the coffee program as commissioned by the Base Science and Technical Unit belonging to the National Agroforestry Institute. The center has the largest coffee germplasm bank in the country as a gene pool with the varieties or commercial clones that are needed multiplied from the Biotechnology laboratory. There, young researchers, specialists and technicians work on the regeneration of plants from the bank. This makes it possible to extend them to the production chain and to comply with the state commission of the Agroforestry Research Institute assigned to the scientific institution as the rector of the certified coffee seed production activity in the country. Following this advice, new type coffee seed banks have already been established with seeds from the season, taking into account their varietal structure and standards. Currently, work is being intensified in all the provinces to promote banks, an activity with progress in the eastern region and with greater results in the central one. The production of certified seed in the Basic Unit of Cooperative Production (UBPC) La Herradura in the Escambray Villa Clara demonstrates this. Likewise, the extension activity carried out with producers and other actors in the production chain stands out. The application of an international training project directed by Doctor of Sciences Ciro Sánchez Esmori, Director of the center, makes it possible to work with the country's school structures. The trainings are aimed at various crop activities such as the introduction of grafting, production of seedlings in tubes, soil improvement, among others. In this sense, the increase in actions in the plain coffee program is a priority. The production of organic fertilizers, with a tendency to solve environmental problems with residues from coffee processing and in an experimental way, efficient microorganisms are introduced, the use of various local organic substrates in substitution of fertilizers for the production of seedlings in tubes, the reduction of the acidity of the soils, are among other projects that also accredits the performance of the researchers of the mountain scientific center. Contributing to the development of the national coffee industry from the light that it distributes is the maxim of this scientific center located in the Escambray mountain range of Villa Clara.
