Havana, June 16 (RHC) The representation in Cuba of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) announced its support for strengthening national capacities in the field of conservation of plant genetic resources.
In coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture, support in this regard is through the Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Agricultural Management (Cobimas) project, financed by the Global Environment Fund, the group reports in a note sent to the Cuban Agency for News.
He points out that the initiative is part of his commitment to improving the country’s scientific and technical capacity, in order to provide microscopes and other supplies for the analysis of plant tissues and cells.
He adds that the equipment is destined for the biotechnology laboratory of the Alejandro de Humboldt Tropical Agriculture Research Institute, in Santiago de las Vegas, capital municipality of Boyeros, with the purpose of promoting research aimed at the conservation of the aforementioned techniques.
It also explains that stereoscopic microscopes, with and without an attached camera, use two eyepieces to create a three-dimensional image of the observed object, which allows greater precision and detail, with the possibility of taking photos and videos.
They constitute essential tools in scientific research, which make it possible to study and analyze in greater detail the plant tissues and cells of such media managed by the project, which is crucial for their conservation and sustainability. .
Since its implementation in 2019, Cobimas promotes the conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity in four Cuban municipalities, with the aim of preserving, adapting and rescuing the fundamentals for food and agriculture in the midst of a constantly changing climate.
The results to date include the increase in populations of 12 local varieties of plants, such as rice, sweet potato, corn, anonaceae and melon, and animals such as Creole pig, goat, brown rabbit and Cuban chicken, all of them highly resistant to modifications. climatic.
The Alejandro de Humboldt Institute for Fundamental Research in Tropical Agriculture is one of the oldest in Latin America and in 2009 it received the status of National Monument. (Source: ACN)
