2023-07-04 04:30:13
Researchers from the National Institute of Agricultural Technology of Salta created a variety of black beans with culinary characteristics superior to the traditional one. Called “Cegro INTA”, the legume obtained outstanding results in terms of its density, the amount of sediment and the color of the broth it leaves in the water. The objective is for the product to have a higher performance than those currently used and to adapt both to new market demands and to increasingly extreme weather conditions such as rain, drought, high and low temperatures. .
“We have a breeding program that is more than 30 years old and what we do is look for plants that have superior characteristics for certain aspects that the crop needs, such as production, yield and post-harvest quality,” says María Elisa Maggio, researcher in Genetic Improvement of Dry Legumes from INTA.
From these superior plants, descendants are obtained that self-fertilize until they form a family with the same genetic composition, a process that lasts between five and six years. Only at that moment can it be evaluated in the different cultivation places which species are more stable, which have better adaptation and how they behave in the face of diseases. Until the best option is chosen and registered, the work can take 15 years.
“What is done in the improvement is to obtain new materials more adapted to the climatic conditions that are changing. A variety that is still being planted but that is already 20 years old from its creation is not the same as a new one that has been exposed to current conditions,” says Maggio.
Argentina is one of the countries with the least consumption of legumes worldwide. While the global average is eight kilos per capita per year, the country fluctuates between 250 and 800 grams. That is to say that between 90 and 95 percent less is eaten if compared with the data of the United Nations Organization for Food and Agriculture.
“Since in our country they are consumed very little due to a matter of habit, then we have to look at the preferences of consumers in other places. However, promoting its internal consumption is very important. Beyond the fact that this bean adapts to a demand abroad, we are capable of producing excellent quality food for our own internal consumption”, highlights Marcela Fili, a researcher at INTA Salta.
In this sense, 95 percent of the beans produced in the country are exported to Brazil, Central America, Europe and part of Asia. According to the Argentine Agroindustrial Council, 174 thousand tons of legumes were exported in the first four months of the year for a value of 123 million dollars, which meant a growth of 25 percent compared to 2022.
“Bean production in the province of Salta is very important and is our main source of income. Most of what is produced is exported and in the case of black beans we are talking about approximately 200,000 hectares,” Fili points out.
On the other hand, the availability of new varieties of seeds superior to the existing ones makes it possible to create agreements with companies that produce them commercially and obtain royalties corresponding to intellectual property so that INTA can continue working through this income and expand its research. .
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