ISA Interchile and the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA), a division of the Ministry of Agriculture, have signed a collaboration agreement to strengthen the protection and dissemination of native flora, which will safeguard the genetic material of endangered species and generate a massive plantation of individuals in the central-northern region of Chile in the future.
Through this long-term public-private partnership, which includes more than five years of joint work, the company will support research at the INIA La Cruz and INIA Intihuasi centers to strengthen the nursery cultivation protocols of 21 species, generating approximately 100,000 individuals that will begin to be planted from 2022. Additionally, this agreement seeks to encourage conservation actions of critical species to safeguard their genetic material, allowing future generations to enjoy the original natural environment of the area and contributing to the preservation of the ecosystem.
ISA Interchile’s General Manager, Gabriel Melguizo, said that this collaboration agreement “allows us to be consistent with what we believe and is at the heart of our strategy, which is sustainable value generation. This agreement with INIA is a real commitment to future generations and the protection of our environment.” For Melguizo, investing in science and research is essential, “the development of countries must go hand in hand with research, which allows us to enhance growth, generate value, and work hand in hand with communities.”
The research will also allow the identification of characteristics of endemic species and their real contributions to the ecosystem, including the development of the agricultural sector, as explained by the Director of INIA La Cruz, Patricio Fuenzalida: “We are very confident in this enriching relationship with ISA Interchile to advance in sustainable production systems. Our region is inherently agricultural, and we must accompany our farmers in a way that collaborates through research to maintain their competitiveness in the market with a sustainable approach, and for that, it is essential to know the contribution of endemic species to the ecosystem.”
The Director of INIA Intihuasi, Edgardo Díaz, indicated that “we are facing a great opportunity to deepen knowledge of native species. This public-private link is consistent with our line of work with the aim of generating relevant information and contributing to conservation.”
