The market
The global market for antiparasitic control reached $ 45 billion in 2010, compared to 32.5 billion in 2001. Around the world, the sector has experienced greater growth in the inflation rate. If we expand the use of herbicide, fungicide and disinfectants for agriculture chemicals, world sales will drop to $ 270 billion. Two -thirds of pesticide consumption are concentrated in OECD member countries, while China is the largest country with +20% of world appetite for this range of products. The American market represents, with $ 11 billion in sales, a quarter of world sales. American industry has more than 110,000 employees and 21,500 companies. The largest pesticide producer in the world is Bayer, with a turnover of more than $ 8 billion according to the latest public data available, followed closely by Syngenta (Switzerland), each representing around 20 % of turnover global. BASF, DOW, Monsanto and Dupont are important players on the pesticide market where the first ten manufacturers represent more than 85 % of world sales. Chemchina, state ownership, has acquired Israelʼs Makhtehim Agan Group, the largest manufacturer of generic pesticides in the world for $ 2.4 billion. It is interesting to note that Monsanto is also the largest seed producer in the world, followed closely by Dupont (#2) and Syngenta (#3). Around the world, around 9,000 species of insects and 8,000 weed species affect the productivity of monoculture crops. Navoing insects cause approximately 14 % of the annual losses of crops, and weeds represent 13 %. The main global companies to combat seeds and pests are increasingly collaborating by generating income either from manipulated seeds to withstand pests, or from the sale of chemicals to control the side effects of agriculture industrial. Monsanto and Basf continue a cooperation program of $ 1.5 billion, an agreement comparable to close relations established between Monsanto and Dow. Monsanto and Syngenta agreed to stop their legal battles and to concede cross -licenses on their intellectual property, while Syngenta and Dupont chose to combine their pesticide portfolio. It is difficult not to imagine that there is a production cartel that has escaped the examination of the authorities.
Innovation
The blind use of chemicals on crops has caused irreparable damage to ecosystems and wild fauna in general, negatively affecting the lives of amphibians and birds, resulting in extinction or endangerment of several species. The use of pesticides is also the deep cause of many health problems that have been exposed for the first time by Rachel Carson in his "Silent Spring" vintage book already published in 1964 which led to the ban on DDT, the reference pesticides at this time. One of the first innovations was the introduction of chemicals specific to pests, instead of the global approach. In the case of cotton, this innovation made it possible to reduce the number of pesticide sprays from 20 to 40 times a year to only 4 to 5 times a year, thus reducing labor costs and the dispersion of chemicals. One of the most creative solutions to fight against parasites is the use of protective nets like those developed by Avi Klayman in Israel, which provide the good amount of sun and air to tomatoes, while parasites which could pass through the barrier are immediately immobilized by a light filter. Today, most of the fruits imported from Central America and South America have been net or bag with a material impregnated with pesticides, rather than sprayed. This offers fruiticulturalists a rare opportunity to combine the use of pesticides in a very controlled way while successfully obtaining the organic label. The drawback is the cost. José Oscar Gutiérrez Montes was born in Cali (Colombia) and studied medicine at the Universidad del Valle (Cali). Later, he obtained a master's degree in pharmacology from the same university where he became a professor. He worked at the General Hospital of Edinburgh in 1985 while following a third cycle course in internal medicine at the University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom). Dr. Gutiérrez worked for a year at Cornell University (New York, United States), where he received a third cycle scholarship to study the function of membranes. When he read in 2007 the research published in the Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications of the University of Nottingham according to which vanilloids, a family of capsaicine molecules extracted from strong peppers, could adhere to the proteins of mitochondria of a cancer cell And cause apoptosis, the self -destruction of the cell, he decided to base himself on these results and compare his own experiences with those he had made. Dr. Gutiérrez remembers the traditional use of chili peppers (Capsicum spp.) As analgesic thanks to the stimulus of blood circulation. He applied extracts such as skin treatment, reducing and, in some cases, eliminating skin scars, in particular in the following burns. The documentation of positive effects based on anecdotal evidence and scientific studies accumulated over the years and Dr. Gutiérrez has decided to focus on possible applications provided that it can ensure sufficient supply. He knew that the cultivation of chili is easy, requires little soil, can be cultivated in the interlayer, and does not even require quality soil, while creating jobs. Each hectare of planted pepper requires five employees and with more than 10,000 hectares of easily available land, he examined the creation potential of more than 50,000 jobs. When he realized that the supply was not the problem, it was faced with the lack of financial resources to undertake the clinical tests essential to access the high -value pharmaceutical market.
The first cash flow
Dr. Gutiérrez then created the company Capsacorp SA in Cali and embarked on an integrated program for the production of cosmetic products for the local market based on a local supply, while motivating farmers to increase their production so that it can Ensure the quality and cost of Capsaicin treated locally. Capsaicin extract is a raw material recognized for well -known products such as tabasco and dermal patches to relieve pain, and a topical anesthetic against arthritis. Capsaicin is even used as an active ingredient in riot control and personal defense, better known as pepper gas-but content is not pepper but rather capsaicin. The success of the operation, from the farm to the intermediate product and manufacturer of cosmetics, earned Capsacor its the 2009 price of "the most promising exporter in Colombia". Its success in the field of cosmetics has enabled the company to continue its growth and finance a laboratory that has gone from cosmetics to a wide range of opportunities based on the experience of Dr Guerriéz as a pharmacist, Author (and co-author) of more than 100 scientific articles published.
The opportunity
On the occasion of the second Blue Economy workshop in Cali in May 2012, several producers met to exhibit their potential in each sector. The establishment of nine ethanol production centers from sugar cane has recently created a new economic activity in the sugar cane cluster, and although this has had a positive impact in the region, the sector Consume for each liter of ethanol, ten liters of water. This contaminated water, with strong biological demand for oxygen (DBO) is expensive to treat, which compromises the competitiveness of production if international standards were imposed. While these wastewater is chemically safe, rich in nutrients, sugar cane farms need water for irrigation. Transporting water by truck is a viable, but costly option. The construction of local wastewater treatment installations also drains too much capital. While the sugar cane industry in the department of Valle del Cauca is the most productive in the world with two harvests per year and the need to replant this perennial sugar plant only once every eleven years, research From higher productivity levels involves better integrated resource management, especially water. Strong peppers have already been traditionally used to combat pests. While most birds (with the exception of pigeons) are not affected by capsaicin, insects seem to suffer from the presence of this biochemical substance. Tests have now indicated that the mixture of capsaicin in residual waters from the manufacture of ethanol and its application on sugar cane land offers multiple advantages: the soil is filled with organic matter, irrigated with the Treatment water, and a concentration of 0.03 % provides control of insect rat parasites. The transformation of a wastewater problem into a product with multiple advantages that can be used locally is a typical case of the blue economy. Given the huge volumes of water available and the proximity of ethanol factories, we can now consider the creation of a local network of peppers of peppers and local extraction of capsaicin with loose use for average production and high -end use for higher quality. Considering that the cost of fertilizers and pesticides is added to the cost of the workforce of the most expensive inputs, this would make the sector of sugar cane more competitive using water and plants available locally everything By creating a large number of jobs. The opportunity to forge industries together, all based on easy and abundant agriculture operating the power of tropics, could benefit from this wholesale purchase of Chile which makes the fertilizer market and the antiparasitic control an engine of development, while eliminating the need for importation. Suppliers of the sugar cane sector could buy most of the product to produce insecticides and fungi enriched with nutrients to combat insects and fungi. When the quality of extraction increases, production can be selectively transformed into products derived from capsaicin, which offers lower risk on investments and higher income potential for farmers. Dr. Gutiérrez has already extended his research beyond a series of cosmetic products for which he won the price of "best research (innovative) in plastic surgery" of Peruvian surgeons. Although he has never considered beauty as his priority, he was able to demonstrate his success on the market, thus preparing the way for a cash flow which will allow him to deploy his knowledge and his know-how in his medical field Preferred, such as pain relievers, dental care, obesity control, gastrointestinal care, postoperative treatments and hemorrhoid diseases. Mr. Gutiérrez believes that the time has come to ensure that this knowledge does not remain the field of one of them, but that they should be part of a development platform for entrepreneurs who could make his Native region in Colombia a prosperous region, based on what it has: abundance.
