More than $5,000 million: The huiro joins aquaculture diversification programs of Corfo

PTEC-INVA, SPA Consortium and EcoSea are the other three technological programs related to aquaculture that are driven by Corfo in Los Lagos.

In the city of Puerto Montt, the new technological programme (PTEC) awarded by the Corporation for the Promotion of Production (Corfo) in the Los Lagos region was recently launched to advance towards national aquaculture sustainability and diversification. It is the initiative titled Innovation for regenerative cultivation of Macrocystis pyrifera, more commonly known as floating huiro, which will be carried out by Regenerative Ocean Agriculture SpA.  

The implementation of these technological programs not only will it contribute to forging more competitive sectors at a global level, but it will also promote harmony with the well-being of civil society and local development. It is expected that the selected projects generate positive impacts on their respective areas and are catalysts for a prosperous and resilient future in the aquaculture industry and in the face of climate change in Chile", underlined the director of Corfo Los Lagos, Gabriel Pérez Gonzalez.

One of the main objectives of the PTEC is to shape and implement, in a a six-year period and an investment exceeding $5,000 million, a collaborative program that allows to install capacities for the implementation and scaling of algae crops. This process will involve the entire value chain and will create the conditions to drive a sustainable and sustainable business modelboth for cultivation and for final products of national and international interest.

"We are very happy to be the ones who lead the development and installation of the entire production chain of the Macrocystis pyrifera in Chile. As a company we were already building the entire production and marketing process of the species. With Corfo we will be able to accelerate this process by bringing together all the experiences and technologies developed at both the national and international levels.; all this with the collaboration of different actors of the national and international ecosystem. We hope that this programme will lead to the installation of a cutting-edge production and economic model around this product, which will allow technological and technical transfer to the ecosystem and competitively position crop development and market marketing", he commented Maria José de la Fuente, Programme Manager IPMAPYco-founder and director of operations in Regenerative Huiro.

This program also seeks to develop a standard of Regenerative and triple impact culture to implement a green seal to be recognized at the national and international levels, in order to add value to algae and lay the foundations for the development of Blue Carbon Bond Market.

The portfolio also considers developing and implementing a model of scaling and technology transfer to generate sustainable business models, processing and transformation of regenerative crops that aim at the development of carbon bond markets and that involve the entire value chain, including small and medium-sized aquaculture farmers.

In general, aquaculture PTECs seek to forge a more competitive sector at global level, bringing local productive development into harmony with the well-being of the community. In turn, projects should be embedded in the value chain and generate synergies with other sectors and/or economic subsectors in the territory.

This initiative joins three other TECs in the region, co-financed by Corfo, to diversify the aquaculture matrix and improve its productivity: Consortium SPA, Ecosea Farming SPA and the Technological Program for the Local Production of Nutritional Insumes for Aquaculture (PTEC-INVA).

Presence in AquaSur

Corfo's "Technological Programs for the Diversification of the Chilean Aquaculture Industry" accelerate and consolidate the development, adaptation and productive and commercial scaling of species for the diversification of the Chilean aquaculture industryissues to be addressed in the next version of AquaSur, the most important fair of the aquaculture industry in the southern hemisphere and that will take place from 19-21 March 2024 in Puerto Montt.

This event is aimed at revalidating Chile's important role in the world industry through the presence of fish farmers, suppliers, guilds, foundations and workers in the sector from various regions, as well as relevant authorities, meeting for the task of promoting and enhancing aquaculture development at the country level, and linking it with the productive technological development and commercial scaling up of various species, safeguarding the sustainability of resources.

*Photos: courtesy of GL events.