jueves, 8 de octubre de 2009

AGROTOUR GUIDED VISIT

The Agropecuario high school of San Carlos is an educational institution belonging to the Bishopric Conference of Costa Rica. It operates under the guidelines of the Board of the Instituto Agropecuario Costarricense SA, which is in turn regulated by Law No. 7772 of May 20th, 1998.

In Costa Rica, the development of reform policies about the State as well as changes in the productive, social, environmental, and economic sectors, have been implemented due to the belief that education, formation, and human resource training strongly influence other strategies and policies which will eventually promote greater success in economic and social transformations, while guaranteeing the integral realization of each individual. From this perspective, it is clear the importance of technical education in the process of improving economic and social issues. Moreover, taking into account nowadays changes drawn from the adaptation and inclussion of scientific and technological advance, there is also a need to protect the environment in agreement with the economic and social development of the country.

To support the efforts of the Executive Power to resolve the problems that limit economic and social development in the country, the Bishopric Conference of Costa Rica, through the Instituto Agropecuario Costarricense, decided to strengthen its already significant involvement in the training of human resources in the country by creating the Colegio Agropecuario de San Carlos.

Thus, in March 1962 under the direction of the Benedictine fathers and Marist brothers in charge of the academic field, classes at the Colegio Agropecuario de San Carlos in Santa Clara began.

The Benedictines were leading the High School for five years and during that time they purchased 551 blocks of land. In this way they owned two farms, one of 166 blocks, where the High School is located, and a 385 blocks property devoted to fattening cattle and growing regional crops.

In 1966 they decided to abandon the site due to lack of staff. After a year of negotiation, in January 1968 the property was transferred to the Bishopric Conference of Costa Rica in order to assure future stability and to guarantee a correct and appropriate guidance for the institution. Thus, Father Eladio Sancho Cambronero assumes the administrative management of the institution and along with the school board they developed a vision of a leader school in the farming and livestock technical education field.

In 1969 the government asked the Bishopric Conference the lease of land for the construction of a higher level farming and livestock school mode: La Escuela Técnica Agrícola de Santa Clara. In 1970, the school began to function and its work was the basis for the Instituto Tecnologico de Costa Rica to promote its development through regional centers by choosing Santa Clara as its first regional experience.

In 1975, the Instituto Tecnologico de Costa Rica began operation in Santa Clara. Between 1976 and 1978, there was an agreement to swap land for buildings. This deal included the exchange of ITCR buildings previously constructed on the High School’s lands for a property of 500 blocks beside “La balsa” river.

The 6238 Act of the Legislative Assembly, issued in 1978, recognized the merit to the institution's farming teaching labor of intermediate level and its pioneering work on the field, so that the State assumes the High School’s cost of operation and functioning; meanwhile, buildings and facilities maintenance costs should continue being borne by the Instituto Agropecuario Costarricense SA.

The recent history of the high school includes innovations in enrollment, men and women are equally accepted. In addition, it is now open to the third cycle and the incorporation of new specialties according to the labor needs of the region is promoted. In 1998, the Legislative Assembly transformed the Law # 6238 to give rise to the Law # 7772 of May 20th, 1998, which created a second stage of the institution, the Agricultural and Industrial School (Escuela Técnica Agrícola e Industrial or ETAI). In a short-term students at the Instituto Agropecuario Costarricense will enter the institution with the following clear expectations:

1. General Basic Education Degree (ninth year)
2. Bachelor's degree in Secondary Education
3. Medium Technician in Agricultural Sciences, Software Development, Ecotourism, and Hotel tourism.
4. Diploma in Agricultural Science, Tourism Services, and Business Administration (in the ETAI)

There is specific area within the high school where all facilities are located (hall of classrooms, laboratories for chemistry, biology, and a reagents room– which is provided with safety showers- as well; there is a gym – which is provided with toilets and sinks-. Moreover, there are administrative offices and principal’s office, staff room, accounting offices, restrooms, classrooms, diner and kitchen, a workshop, equipment and supply room, and a campus library. Among the farming oriented facilities, there are several areas such as a dairy, a poultry shed, a cattle pen, and a pig stable.

OFFERED PROJECTS DURING THE JOURNEY
Botanical Garden
This is the newest project developed by high school students in the institution. The aim of this project is to draw interest from tourists as well as from native population towards from around the world and native plants’ implementation in the garden as they take part in a guided walk through our footpaths. The garden is also planned to be used as an open classroom by students from the educational centers.
During your visit you will also have the opportunuty to gaze at the refreshen forest that surrounds the garden as well as several species of fauna such as squirrels and humming birds, among others.
Some of the species of plants include Pitanga or (Eugenia uniflora, Mirtácea), native to southern Brazil, evergreen, short height, small white flowers, and bright fruits. It produces all year. Moreover, the Fruta Milagrosa (Synsepalum dulcificum) which is native from West Africa and commonly called Miracle Fruit, miracle berry, miraculous berry. Testing the pulp of these acid fruits alters the taste to very sweet and the effect lasts an hour or two. Higo (Ficus carica) is considered part of the project as well. This fruit may come from Western Asia, though subsequently distributed throughout the Mediterranean. It is known that humans already knew and collected it before the year 9000 BC C.
In addition, there are some other plants such as Jaca (Artocarpus heterophyllus) that comes from the Indomalaya region; Pulasán (Nephelium mutabile) from South East Asia; Rambutan  (Nephelium lappaceum) which is native to Indonesia and Southeast Asia; Arazá (Eugenia stipitata) that originates in the Peruvian Amazon; Lichi (Litchi chinensis) which is considered one of the world's finest fruits in Southern China.
 
Greenhouses and organic agriculture

Within the high school there are greenhouses which allow the production of hydroponics and organic agriculture. The hydroponics or hydroponic farming is a method for growing plants without soil. Plants will grow in water with mineral solutions instead of agricultural land; besides, different substrates (sand, stone, coconut fiber, etc.) can be used. For crops growing, substrates must be disinfected to prevent the contamination of cultivated plants. Hydroponics allow the proper development of different crops. In general, we can develop any type of plantation using this method, but it is mostly used with annual crops (tomato, lettuce, cucumber, pepper, cilantro, rice, etc.) than with perennials (mango, citrus, papaya, coffee, etc.).

On the other hand, organic farming values the soil as the fundamental and irreplaceable structure for growing plants and as the sustenance of life in the planet. The soil contains a great amount of life that is nowadays known as a basic requirement for maintaining stability, fertility, and consequently plant growth. Organic agriculture is mainly characterized by the elimination of any agrochemical substances when developing and producing plants. For crops’ development the organic waste from the farm or enterprise should be used (crops remainders, animal remains, animal droppings, etc.) for the production of organic fertilizers (compost, vermicompost, bocashi) which in turn are used to fertilize crops.

Paper recycling project
Our high school has organized an environmental management committee, which is implementing a program of collection, separation, and recycling of wastes generated by the activity of the educational community. The idea is to separate paper, glass, plastic, aluminum, organic wastes, and others. Organic wastes are processed in our school through the projects of compost and vermicompost to be used on crops in the high school’s plots. Glass, aluminum, and plastic are sold to recycling organizations and the income from this activity is allocated to student welfare programs. Finally, the paper is processed in the small factory of handmade paper. The process consists on the separation of the fibers and division of the paper collected around the school by sections. Then it is mixed with natural fibers such as pinzote, rod, lily, pineapple and others to obtain a paste that is left reposing in the tank. Then, the paper layers are elaborated by using special frameworks. The thickness of the paper depends on the number of layers to be applied. The final product is used to make crafts, paintings with environmental motifs, cards, gift boxes, among others.
The recycled paper helps reducing the environment's contamination and logging.
This project is trying to find an alternative to transform the paper that proceeds from the institute’s offices.
The specific objectives that we are trying to achieve with this project are:
1. Increasing the use of resources that the institution has: paper wastes, fiber of plants like plantains.
2. Generating incomes as the result of the transformation of raw material in diverse products (leafs, crafts, etc.)
3. Creating a didactive unity to transmit the process and to generate technology about itself.

"La Casona del AGRO"
"La Casona del AGRO" is a rescue project of traditional infrastructure. Long time ago it was an open pen to milk dual purpose cattle. Now this place is used for artistic performances (folkloric dancing, music, paintings, plays, and traditional cuisines, among others). We also use “la Casona” for outdoor activities with sportive and tourist purposes. Rural tourism is also promoted within this project as it invites the visitor to come back to nature as well as to acquire knowledge about plants and animals; so that cultural high level tourism is attracted. Rural manifestations not only include the field of nature, but also the architectural and artistic heritage along with traditions, folkloric, religious, and gastronomic manifestations.
"La granjita" and the project of animal traction allow "La Casona" to have an approach to the rural and productive traditions of the region.
In the Casona visiters can learn about the traditions of "boyeo" or oxherding and "la carreta" or the oxcart which underlie a complex cultural world of knowledge, values and meaning, that are intangible for those that do not appreciate beyond the appearances.
In fact, “la carreta” is one of the most significant and ingrained cultural expressions of the cultural patrimony of Costa Rica. Although oxcarts have been a system of effective transport in the globe, it is in Costa Rica where this vehicle, associated to the tradition of the oxherding, it takes creative appropriation, and adapts to the conditions of the environment at the same time it has a lot of meanings that makes "la carreta" a symbol of national identity. The boyeo's process, and the construction and painting of "la carreta" is one of the most important attractions of our country.

Bird-rearing farm
In our small bird-rearing farm we handle fattening chickens of the Hybro line for internal consumption in the institutional dining room, in broods of 70 chickens we handle four broods in different ages, introducing new chicks of one week every two weeks and carrying out the slaughter of chickens when reaching the seven weeks of life with a weight of 1.7 kilograms to 2.0 kilograms. Students must maintain control on the disinfection, the healing, feeding, water to be drunk, weight, and the cutting up of fattening chickens with the purpose of learning the necessary skills for the bird-rearing production.

Pig stables
In our installations we also have two pig stables (one of brood and the other of fattening) administered by Embutidos Zamora S.A., they own almost 100 female pigs of brood and wean the pigs to the 30 days of born, our students do all the practices of handling that are required from the attention of the childbirth like the treatment of the navels, castrations, cuts of tail and eyeteeth, vaccination, and applications of vitamins. Having a relation with a private company allows us to have access to a productive project to develop in the students the necessary skills for the pig production and simultaneously the company receives benefits with the contribution of qualified manpower. The entire animal reproduction is controlled by the detection of the female pigs heat (4 days after the weaning) and the artificial insemination. The female pigs that are diagnosed with positive pregnancy are taken to the gestation building which lasts 114 days, eight days before its probable date of childbirth they are taken to the farrowing quarters and there they get prepared for the childbirth.

Traction Animals
Walking around the pastures for the feeding of the buffalo and the oxen it is important to tell you that the use of work animal must be the most rational possible. In order to accomplish the most rational use of work animals, their use should be on the same exploitation but in different labors; in the agriculture from the preparation of the ground to the harvest, in the transportation of every type of load that is required, driving pumps for the irrigation of farming or aqueducts and in any other type of work that can efficiently be carried out with animal energy.The animal traction must take the most possible advantage because of its easy adaptation to the own conditions of any region and to farming and/or agro-industrial operations in small, medium, or great scale. Besides, due to their different adaptation to agroecosystems, diverse domestic species like the horse, the ox, the buffalo, the donkey, the mule, the goat, among others, can be useful in varied environments.
Traditionally, the animal traction is an important component in agriculture. Nowadays, with the increase in the cost of hydrocarbons, again the animal traction becomes an option for the sustainable agricultural production. The use of animals like buffalos, horses, or oxen displays a low cost of resource and versatility for the work field.
For the students the handling of work animals, its maintenance and feeding, and the care given to the gear in the learning of skills has a function not only in the rescue of lost agricultural cultures, but it also turns the technician into a knower of knowledge on the animal behavior or ethology.
When animals are employed for haulling or pulling they should wear harness and trappings. Buffalos, oxen, mules, donkeys, and horses need leather collars to pull the agricultural instruments and cars. Besides, horses, buffalos, and oxen can pull loads through the use of pectoral girth. In addition, animals like buffalos, oxen, mules, and donkeys can transport loads from 100kg to 300kg cars. Buffalos, oxen, and horses are stronger, in fact, they are able to haul the heviest loads; however, they are more difficult to train. The collars, girths, and reins on the animal’s head should perfectly fit the animal avoiding rubbing its skin.

The harness should also adapt perfectly to the animal and it should not have rigid edges inorder to avoid rubbing the animal. Because of the feature of cotton fabric to absorb sweat, it is recommended to place a blanket under the pack-saddle, mainly when the weather is hot
After a walk, when the animal is warm and sweating, the girth should be immediately slacken leaving the saddle in its original place a few minutes until the animal is cool again.

Didactic plots
Our didactic plots are divided into different sections according to type of crops, basic grains (corn, beans, and sorghum), roots and tubers (cassava, cocoyam, ñampi, and sweet potato), and vegetables (cucumber, radish, tomato, chile, and species in general). Depending on the season, you may see one or the other crop, planting systems, inert cover, green manure, drainage or irrigation systems, planting distances, crop varieties, and so on. Besides, there is a small banana plantation which allows students to apply musaceas management. All of our crops are fertilized with organic fertilizer produced by our school, as well as organic repellents and insecticides.


Goat stables
The production of goat milk in the tropics has been characterized by low production due to several factors such as: poor management techniques in animals, little genetic potential for milk production, herd health problems, especially poor nutrition. The high cost of food protein commonly used in balanced diets (meat, fish and soy) and competition with monogastric feed has led the producers to look for alternative sources to feed their animals and which also imply a low cost.
Due to the characteristics of goat feeding (“ramonear” or to nibble grass, twigs, or leaves ) and digestive physiology it has been relatively easy to use some trees and shrubs characterized by easy establishment, adaptation, and management in the tropics to feed these animals. The use of mulberry (Morus alba) and Poro (Erythrina poeppigiana) has facilitated the filling of the protein requirements of goats in both the development and production of milk, but it is necessary to complete the energy in the diet. In our project we have high crossbreeding goats producing milk as the Saanen and Toggenburg, as well as hardy goats adapted to a difficult climate as La Mancha and Nubiana.
This is a highly sustainable project that avoids using chemical inputs to maximize the materials generated at the farm. It generates the cabraza as well, which is an organic waste with a great fertilizing value. The project produces meat and milk of high nutritional value.

Laying hens shed
Another section of the project is the laying hens shed with Hisex Brown or Badcock lines a medium chicken egg producer hen, but with the ability to easily adapt to conditions of high temperature and relative humidity. Due to its greater hardiness it has fewer disease problems and an acceptable production under conditions of intensive egg production. We handle about 300 chickens. Students are responsible for feeding, collecting eggs, cleaning barns, animal health and handling of birds. Once a year when the egg-laying decreases, poultry is slaughtered and there are new pullets on the verge of laying eggs, after picking up “pollinaza” (excreta of poultry mixed with sawdust or wood mulch) for feeding fattening calves on the high school’s farm located in San Lorenzo.


Vermiculture project and vermicompost production
The vermiculture project was designed as a complementary alternative to the management of solid wastes generated by the sub-unit of production in cattle. In general terms, it consists on the transformation of the manure through the use of red Californian earthworm (Eisenia foetida), which is able to digest the waste and transform it into a product known as vermicompost. The humus of the worm presents a balanced content of nutrients, it improves aeration, acidity, and the ability to retain soil moisture and mineral elements. Moreover, it provides phytohormones and plant growth stimulants which have a high content of microorganisms antagonistic to the pathogen attack plants.

Some additional facts are included below:

· Earthworm flour contains 60 to 80% crude protein which ranks as one of the highest quality food to be found in nature. Its properties can be used to produce meat of high quality and low cost, with a profitability and productivity never achieved by any other activities for obtaining meat.
· The earthworm meat can be used raw and direct as bait for fish or as protein supplement for poultry, fish, frogs, and pigs.
· Because of its properties, there are alternatives for red worm human consumption.

The conventional farming system based on green revolution in agriculture has resulted in the increasing deterioration of the agroecosystem and consequently the increase in production costs and danger to health. Organic agriculture is now a very viable alternative to gradually reduce the environmental impact caused by the indiscriminate use of agrochemicals. The use of organic materials to improve physical, chemical, and biological soil is well documented and involves the implementation of better practices for the manufacture of organic fertilizers and biological extracts.

The project seeks to demonstrate the suitability of using agro-ecological methods as a suitable alternative for sustainable management of the agro-ecosystem.

Specifically, the dynamics of the project include:

v Manufacturing of compost type fertilizer.
v Development of foliar fertilizers on fruit and leaves.
v Production of bio-organisms and efficient organism extracts (E: M:).
v Establishment of an experimental didactic program for validation of the organic amendments.


Medicinal plants garden
In our garden of medicinal plants we are designing a small collection of plants commonly used by our ancestors for the treatment of common diseases. It currently has more than 50 species and we look forward to adding more plants to the collection.


Organic wastes management
A major concern of the school and integral part of our philosophy of production is the proper management of organic waste generated by production systems. For this reason, in each of them we make an effort to find alternatives for the handling and use of debris. Pigpens are one of the projects that generates more pollution; that is why, it has been found in the feeding of calves with cerdaza an excellent alternative of beef production from an organic waste or two as in the case of the use of pineapple shell. These two products of farming and livestock production contain very important quality and quantity of nutrients that work well for feeding ruminants such as steers. Animals entering after weaning, around 7 or 8 months, weighing about 180 to 220 kg and weighing about 550 kilograms leave around 7 or 8 months later.
The reason why breeding and fattening pigpens are separated is justified by the need to keep the pigs aproppriatetly isolated from the rest of the young adult population. Once the piglets weaned at the age of 30 days they are maintained by one or two weeks more in farm 1, then moved to farm 2 where they are fed for six months, reaching a market weight rounding the 90 and 100 kilograms. All pigs are marketed by the company Sausages Zamora. The waste obtained from pigs is used to feed stabled calves.


The Dairy
One of the largest projects on the farm is the development of calves, the female dairy needs replacement every time one of the cows in production must be discarded by low production, disease, or lack of pregnancy. The project takes 4 days born females and encloses them in the cradle, where they are fed with 10% of their weight in fluid milk once a day and with a 35 ° C temperature for 10 or 12 weeks depending on the consumption of concentrate food (500 grams per day minimum). Besides, they are administered a source of fiber to stimulate the development of the rumen. Once they are weaned and transferred to pastures they are still supplemented with balanced food (1.5 kg per animal). They are inseminated to reach 70% of its adult weight and they are also prepared to be milked a month before their first childbirth.

The dairy is one of our major growth projects which demonstrates that the current situation of milk production has increased strongly. Approximately, 90 cows are milked with a year varying production ranging from 14 pounds per cow per day including two milkings. We have facilities for animal stalling in the hottest hours of the day, thereby reducing heat stress common in tropical lowlands. Among the facilities, there is a milking room similar in design to a fish bone of 8 units which can be operated by two workers. There is also a cold room where the cooling tank is located with a capacity of 4000 liters of milk. Besides, there is a room for machines and maintenance. The production is delivered to the Milk Producers Cooperative Dos Pinos, the largest milk industrializer enterprise in Costa Rica.

We also have a 140.7 hectares farm in San Lorenzo devoted to the development of breeding and fattening cattle. We have two herds of pure cattle, one of them Bos indicus or Zebu cattle represented by Brahman race, and a Bos taurus herd represented by Simbrah breed, and a commercial hybrid Simental, Brahman, and Simbrah breed, which together make up a herd of 250 animals.

We hope that your visit will awaken your need to know more about our education proposal; it will always be a pleasure serving you. Thank you.


Posted by
Ing. Agr. Juan Carlos Corrales Arce MSc
Teacher Eliana Vargas Rodríguez
Students 11-2