Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Relaunching of Bolivarian Revolution Starts by Food Sovereignty
By Ministry of Popular Power
Feb 15, 2008, 21:37
The fact of achieving food sovereignty is one of the main goals of the Bolivarian Government. During last year, the Ministry of Popular Power for Communal Economy (MINEC in Spanish) has focused its efforts on developing industrial projects aimed at achieving food sovereignty through international alliances and taking advantage of the human talents of the people.
An example is the recently inaugurated corn plant Juana Ramirez “La Avanzadora”, a social production company (EPS) that pays tribute to a distinguished Venezuelan woman that fought for Venezuela’s independence. It is located in Cairara de Maturín, a town of Monagas state, Venezuela’s North-west, which has a modern infrastructure which favors the transformation process of the yellow corn grain into precooked flour that complements the diet of the Venezuelans.
Process Capacity
According to the Venezuelan agronomist engineer Peter Angola, coordinator of the corn plants installed by the Communal Economy Ministry, the recently inaugurated plant Juana Ramirez “La Avanzadora” has a daily production of 72 tons of corn. 47 tons of this production will be turn into precooked flour and 25 in sub-products.
Once the infrastructure of the plant has a 100% functioning, 1,404 tons of yellow precooked flour are expected to be delivered to local markets, state-owned programs, food cooperatives, the Nutrition National Institute, among other social plans.
Recovering the community
This corn processing plant is part of a technological transference agreement between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Bolivarian Government. This is just the second of 10 plants the MINEC is expected to install. Juana Ramirez “La Avanzadora” already generates an important social impact of 96 direct jobs, 291 indirect jobs and the incorporation of more than 250 local small producers that will be able to safely distribute their harvests to the new social production company (EPS).
Discount for producers
According to the announcement made by President Hugo Chávez during the opening of the Juana Ramirez “La Avanzadora” plant, the producers that have received Government financing will receive discount of $ 0,27 for every 2.2 pounds of corn delivered to the plant. Each 2.2 pounds of raw material will has the official price of $0, 26, as it is established in the Official Gazette. Precooked corn flour will be sold at $ 0, 50 in the plant, without including transportation, freight charge, and commercialization expenditure, which will allow obtaining $ 0, 03 of profit for each package of 2.2 pounds.
Advanced technology for the people
One of the technologies of the plant is the 140 meters transporting band, which moves 60 tons of corn per day coming from the silos Casa Corporation.
The external walls of the infrastructure have glasses that increase internal light saving energy and becoming an important value for workers.
Popular synergy
Thanks to popular participation 42 local community councils proposed 96 members of the Mission Che Guevara, knows as “lanceros” (trainees) (43 women, 50 men, and 3 trainers), to start this new corn plant.
According to the information issued by the Ministry of Popular Power for Communal Economy, the teaching program of the Mission Che Guvara “lanceros” started on May 18, 2007, and finished eight months later. During this time they were trained to develop knowledge, skills and aptitudes necessary for their performance in the corn plant, considering their potentials and productive requirements.
The trainees also have the opportunity to improve and reinforce their skills learned during a preliminary inductive program taught in another corn social production company (EPS), called “Bravo Cacique Yaracuy”, located in Yaracuy state (North-center).
People’s opinion
Andreína Ochoa, 27, is industrial engineer and was trained by Mission Che Guevara. She commented that “with this new project the people, the organized community, the community councils, and trainees of Mission Che Gevara, we are responsible of promoting food sovereignty of the nation. Furthermore, she said “from now on, thanks to this corn processing plant, we do not depend on private company to take the food for the Venezuelan table.”
Finally, Ochoa affirmed that “the commitment is huge. It is a commitment with ourselves, with our families, with the community, and with the country because know we are responsible for this essential future of Venezuela.”
Ángel Centeno, 27, is a Food Technology student who considers that “we are going to achieve food sovereignty because we are not going to depend on whether private or transnational businessmen decide what product to bring or what product not to bring here, like the case of corn flour, one of the most consumed products in the country.”
Ministry of Popular Power for Communal Economy
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