Frutesa inks Bayer CropScience alliance

Date:09-21-2010

One of Guatemala’s leading fresh produce suppliers, Frutesa (Frutas Tropicales de Guatemala), has signed a cooperation agreement with Bayer CropScience to enter into the German company’s Food Chain Partnership programme.

Under the deal, Bayer CropScience will share with Frutesa, its growers and consultants the know-how to optimise the use of Bayer’s crop protection products through the continuous training and development of mutual cooperation.

The model of sustainable crop production, called “Mayan Vegetables for the World”, is designed to effectively control pests on Frutesa’s mangetout, sugar snap and blackberry crops while remaining below the Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) of pesticides permitted on the company’s export markets.

“For Frutesa, it is a good opportunity to have allies like Bayer CropScience because the demands of the international markets regarding the use of agrochemicals are stricter each day and therefore we have to be prepared to give our groups of farmers the best tools with which to control the pests while remaining within the MRLs permitted by the regulatory bodies,” Dr Mathias Kremer, president and general manager of the Bayer Group said in a press release.

“These actions will allow farmers who work with Frutesa to have access to relevant, regulatory information for exporting agricultural products, while at the same time they will receive the recommendations of the correct products in the correct dosages and the methodology in the application of products that will control the problems in the fields without exceeding the MRLs,” added Bayer sales representative Juan Carlos González.

“We expect to obtain very good results with this agreement and expect our growers to achieve higher yields because losses due to pests will be minimised,” explained Frutesa general manager Gloria Polanco.

“And, at the same time we expect to provide all our clients with high quality product that is safe and meets all the legal requirements of the health authorities in our clients’ markets,” Ms Polanco added.

Frutesa and Bayer Crop Science specialists will jointly develop a tailor-made programme for each grower group that aims to solve the particular problems that each particular group has taking into consideration the geographic location and the climate and the weather conditions of their fields.