Our intertwined path

The most normal thing is for companies to do their improvement, production and commercialization of that seed. When there is a breeding program that becomes independent, as is the case in most programs of public bodies, then it is very difficult to find that partner who wants to take a germplasm and commercialize it when they did not develop it. So I think that a strength and a very special characteristic of this link between CIAT and Papalotla is that, that we work together from the start, from the development of the product, from imagining the product to the commercialization. For a breeding program, the main objective is for a producer to sow what is developed, to be used. So I believe the time we have to work together, despite the changes and the twists and turns and everything, that bond has been able to be maintained over time. Thanks to trust (CIAT Interview).

Mulato I was an agronomically very good material that was well accepted by people, but it was completely a commercial failure, because neither party thought about seed production, which is key to economic viability (Papalotla Group Interview).

When in 2000 we were looking for the place to start this testing center, we took a tour with Dr. John Miles and, mistakenly, we showed him beautiful places, both this and the other. So when we came in, he said “here it's going to be”. And why? And he said that, because if grass hit here, it would hit anywhere in the world. Previously, these here were old peanut production sites, but I didn't give them anything anymore, it was pure sand. And at the beginning, the soil analysis was done and it had 0.05% of organic matter. That is, nothing, it was solid sand. Then we started to let out a little bit of weed, we started to drag it out, to incorporate it and that's where it was composed; it was already 1.8 in organic form and that's where we continued to incorporate it. Here, all the hybrids developed by CIAT and offered for sale by Papalotla have been tested (Papalotla Interview).

The director of research at that time was Dr. Esteban Pizarro, who brought the CIAT theme line. The first seed we evaluated, which was a success, was Mulato II and it gave us more than one ton per hectare. So we did a presentation here and they all came and showed the preliminary results. And everyone said “this can't be true”. When we count and weigh that, the Doctor jumps up, says “how? It can't be, we have to do it again.” The second repetition, the third repetition, almost the same, very homogeneous. It was confirmed that the potential of Mulato II and that opened the doors (Papalotla Interview).

The seed has two types of dormancy: physical dormancy and physiological dormancy. The Speed Germ will help us to reduce this dormancy, which is the time when the seed is suitable for germination (which can be depending on the type of variety, 6 months, 8 months, a year), that no matter if the seed was harvested yesterday or last week, it undergoes this process and helps the seed to wake up and germinate as soon as possible. It is Papalotla Group's patented technology. (Papalotla Interview)

To the producer, at least here in Latin America, they have always wanted to sell the idea that improving livestock is based on buying better animals: they look for a beautiful stallion and start crossing it. The problem is that they keep feeding him the same thing, they don't think about the quality of the pastures they give to their cows. So, if you don't feed them well, how are they going to express their genetic potential? (Papalotla Interview).

Our materials, our hybrids, must be accompanied by a technological package. The important thing is that these new pasture technologies are accompanied by technical assistance, because it's no use for me to tell you look here is the Mulato, here is Camello, Cayman, and you grab and handle it as if it were a common grass, you put the cattle in it and that's it. No, this requires management, so that hybrid, that technology, must also be accompanied by technical assistance (Papalotla Interview).

I think what we are most looking for is to be able to develop hybrids that can provide more complete solutions to producers. For this reason, we are trying to approach genetic improvement from different sides; that is, a hybrid that is resistant or resilient to environmental variations, but that at the same time can have characteristics that a producer knows is collaborating in the mitigation of climate change. In some countries, it will be possible for this collaboration to have an economic return, for example, carbon credits or something like that, and then also think about how communities are impacted from the social side: what are you going to provide to that producer who incorporates this technology? What additional benefits will you have for your personal well-being or that of your family group? (CIAT Interview)

CIAT provides and we begin to assess whether the differentiating characteristics are of interest to us. And we can receive batches of 100, 200, 700 species. If a promissory note comes out, go ahead. And we began to notice the years, because how much does CIAT invest in developing genetics? Once we have the first grams of seed, we start with 5 grams, 3 grams, 10 seeds... there we started with that work to produce 10 seeds, 100 and for the other cycle, 1000 and 1000 to the first kilo. We began to count and make evaluations, the plantations of the pots to move to the field part and evaluate a field of 12 by 2 meters, 4 square meters. To know if it's viable or not; we have those 4 square meters for at least 3 years, to see if those essential characteristics last over time and then to say, you know what? Maybe, let's try it. And then we sent it to universities to do these evaluations until we had half a kilo of seed and there we sent it to field production. After 7 years of effort, you have half a kilo of seed to make it grow. Half a kilo of seed is enough for 1000 square meters in the field and from there, the basic seed collection. Then the first 5 hectares in the second year and of those 5, start generating seeds to set up a production field of 50. And of those 50, generate a stock by then you can have a commercial product. It would be 8-9 years before we could have enough material to release a commercial product. (Papalotla Interview)

Producers, when they plant our pastures, produce more meat and milk, and bear a greater animal burden. They are not the cheapest on the market. But people prefer to invest more for their paddock establishment, because they will see it translated into profitability in a short time. Now, our commercial purities are 99%, not just anyone can offer you that. What is the planting recommendation for establishing these low-purity generic pastures? Sow 20 kg per hectare. We recommend 8 kg, because we know the purity of our materials.

The future is going to be water. The three improvement programs we currently have should revolve around this. In the most efficient use of water and also tolerance to waterlogging. But, perhaps more important, is the efficient use of that water resource. I believe that in the future everything should revolve around the efficient use of water, obviously without neglecting characteristics of nutritional quality and biomass production (CIAT Interview).

In plant breeding, the feeling of both parties, both in research and in marketing, is that, if you don't do it in the long term, don't do it (CIAT Interview).

Papalotla must be greatly applauded here, because CIAT, without them, would only have generated scientific material and bibliography. Papalotla have an economic interest, but they have succeeded in disseminating the materials developed by CIAT. They win as a company, we win as a research institution, and producers benefit. If Papalotla comes to you as a producer, then the producer will think that his only interest is to sell a seed. But if the company goes in to demonstrate, hand in hand with CIAT, the research and extension work, the impact will be much greater (Papalotla Interview).