Soil nutrition workshop.
Humica, A.C.
Development of customized enrichment plans
The actions implemented were carried out to successfully protect and enrich the soils, for which it was necessary to identify updated soil and crop needs, and lay the groundwork for a study of critical curves in coffee nutrition. These consist of knowing the approximate proportion of nutrients that coffee plants can assimilate in each of the dominant soil units in the region, information with which updated and personalized enrichment plans can be made, according to the specific needs of each plot and each producer, including in the future, the nutritional requirements of each of the varieties established in the zone. In addition to the above, it is possible to identify in detail the role that each of the macro and microelements has in the development of coffee varieties, and the impact that nutrients have on the aroma and flavor properties of the final product can be determined.
- Necessary knowledge for producers to be able to continue carrying out individual activities on their plots of land;
- Support and guidance to producers who need it;
- Identification of actions to protect and enrich soils, and follow up on their implementation;
- Accompaniment by a local technician for the interpretation of soil analyses;
- Carrying out updated and personalized enrichment plans, according to the results of the soil studies.
- The soil studies with which the project began were more than three years old and did not reflect the current reality, which made it difficult to design enrichment plans that would meet nutritional needs;
- The soils in the area are impoverished, so it was important to identify their degree of suitability for shade-grown coffee and make appropriate recommendations to meet the particular needs of each site;
- Before carrying out interventions, it is necessary to identify the possibility of implementing nutrition strategies, respecting as much as possible the customs rooted in the area to avoid rejection by the producers, since in the area of action of the program they have the vision of "respecting the production customs of the grandparents";
- It is important to identify the nutrition activities currently carried out by the producers in order to rescue good practices;
- Due to the unique characteristics of the regions of Oaxaca, as well as the producers' plots, it is necessary that the actions taken are personalized.