With the signature of SQM, and the president of the Atacameño Community of Toconao, the agreement for the official delivery of the facilities of the former camp that SQM had located in Toconao was sealed. I consider this process that began a few years ago to be coordinated work with the community, highlighting the active participation of the people of the Toconao community. Among the milestones associated with the work are: the delivery of the architectural project for the development of the tourist complex, the implementation of the specialty committees made up of people from the community, which define elements as important as the brand, tourist products, interior design, among other elements. with which the new hotel space will have. At the same time, a work table will be established to define agreements for the transfer and accompaniment.
This project for hydroponic production began in 2016 in the community of Socaire, as a research center for the area, to identify the best crop species and varieties to produce locally with hydroponic technology. Currently, 6.000 lettuces are produced per month, in 1.000m2 of effective surface, this allowed the community to employ 4 workers permanently during the year 2019. The program was replicated in the community of Talabre and was expanded to the production of fruit and leaf crops in living substrate, allowing the inclusion of 5 traditional farmers. In the 2019 period, the program focused on improving and repairing infrastructure and the construction of civil works to support production, maintaining technical assistance and monitoring production.
Started in 2008 in Talabre, this program began with the planting of 0,2 ha. Technified sprinkler irrigation with the aim of improving water efficiency and crop production. With the improvement validated by farmers and the community in 2011, the program is expanded with support from the Foundation for Agrarian Innovation, for research and training of the emerging project. In 2019, the orientation of the work was to establish the alfalfa plots of sector 3 and standardize the irrigation system. The alfalfa production had a yield of 3 cuts during the season, reaching a yield of 12 the first cut, 15 the second and 20 the third cut.
The 2019 activities for the cultivation of garlic in Río Grande consisted of support for the disinfection of plots with products with minimal impact on the local ecosystem and with the review during the cycle of the progress of diseases already detected. The garlic production campaign had 23 participants, of whom 15 dedicated themselves to this production and the others to planting rotation crops to reduce the presence of diseases. Production levels remained at an average 70% per hectare, obtaining a high positive impact for the community. In 2019, the Hierbas Buenas field dependent on the Río Grande community was included, which has 30 ha. to cultivate and in which the first support works in civil works were carried out.
Within the framework of SQM's Atacama Tierra Fértil program, a group of 18 farmers from the Celeste, Toconao, San Pedro de Atacama and Socaire sectors produce wine above 2.400 meters of altitude. In 2020, the eighth harvest of Ayllu wine was carried out, which in Kunza means "community" and which reflects the desire to develop the wine industry in conditions that are not traditional, with modern techniques and advice from national and international experts. The Ayllu is a signature wine, each label bears the number of square meters of the vineyard, the number of vines on its property, the bottles produced per year and the meters above sea level of said production. These characteristics have been positioning it for its commercialization in hotels and restaurants in the Antofagasta Region. Currently, the 18 families that make up the project are grouped under the Cooperativa de Viñateros de Altura, they produce wines from the strains: Chardonnay, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Malbec, Moscatel, the traditional País strain and the recently presented Sauvignon Gris.
In 2008, the Atacama Tierra Fértil Program was born, through which SQM has promoted agro-productive initiatives in the driest desert in the world. The Fertile Land Program is present in the towns of: San Pedro de Atacama, Toconao, Talabre, Rio Grande and Hierbas Buenas, Soncor and Socaire. Its objective is to provide farmers with technical advice and collaboration, to develop their crops and production, through a team of multidisciplinary professionals, provide innovation tools to improve crops and the marketing of products with added value or high quality. . One of its hallmarks is respect for the cultural aspects of the ancestral agriculture of the Atacameño people.
