15/11/2010 - The 2010 series of Open Gates was surrounded by a special atmosphere, considering the huge responsibility that entails to continue with the legacy of Oscar Alvarado, one of the founder members of CREA Roque Pérez Saladillo, who built up the necessary strength and enthusiasm to make a success of this workshop.

Under the slogan “My life, my testimony, we are protagonists of change" the CREA Roque Perez Saladillo and the Regional Unit of AAPRESID opened their gates and inaugurated the XXI series of the traditional meeting carried out in Argentina. More than 1,500 people gathered at the La Margarita farm, in Saladillo, with an aim to share news about the use of agricultural technology and to discuss and reflect on local development.

It was the President of the CREA Group, host Alberto Garré, who was in charge of the opening, and who, after giving a moving welcome to the attendants, offered to Rafael Llorente -President of AACREA- an acknowledgement of the first 50 years of life of the organization.

Fabio Quetglas, an expert in local development, was in charge of introducing the topic to the audience, while Carlos March, Director of Avina Foundation, Héctor “Toty” Flores, National Representative, and Pedro Espondaburu, Local Development Secretary of the Municipality of Tandil, contributed to the debate with their social and political viewpoints. With this first group an approach was made to the keys of local development in Argentina, to then discuss in deep the role of the agricultural area in the matter.

With Gonzalo Villegas, member of CREA Roque Pérez Saladillo, as moderator, Engineers Guillermo Bernaudo and Martín Lizazo shared their experiences and encouraged producers and neighbors to actively participate in their communities in pursuit of the expected development for our country.

A separate consideration must be given to the participation of Carlos Crovetto, a pioneer of No-till farming, who came from Chile to pay a warm tribute to Oscar Alvarado. He reminded Oscar as a “great creator who fostered the Argentine agricultural activity centered on the respect to human beings and the love for the soil”. The Mayor of Saladillo, Carlos Gorosito and the members of CREA Roque Pérez Saladillo joined their feelings in this tribute to Oscar.
 
The realization of educational projects in the area of Roque Pérez Saladillo will be possible thanks to the 43 companies that sponsored the gathering. As in 2009, the commitment undertaken by the organizers is to allocate the funds collected in this Workshop to the activities carried out by eduCREA:
 
The meeting had a special touch. The Social Tent congregated six community organizations working at solidarity production projects to disseminate their initiatives and offer their products. La Juanita from La Matanza offered panettone in colourful boxes; Pies Felices (Happy Feet) from Villa Martelli, benches and hand-woven textiles; the Agricultural Institute of Monte, jellies and canned products elaborated by its pupils; the San Francisco Shop displayed clothes and recyclable bags; while Amasando Sonrisas (Kneading Smiles) presented its irresistible “rogelitos”.

The money collected from lunch was in aid of School Nº10 and the CFR Saladillo which were in charge of serving it, displaying an excellent work in team to carry out this task.

During the afternoon, the buses that made the visits to farms were plenty of enthusiastic people, eager to listen to the presentations at the four wheat-barley, soybean, corn, and soybean-sunflower stops. Agriculturists Pablo Calviño, Ricardo Pavón, Gustavo Ferraris, Manuel Bermúdez, Juan P. Monzón, Martín Sánchez, Gonzalo Ropero and Dabel Valsecchi were in charge of explaining the technology applied in each particular case.

The presentations quality, the excellence of crop samples, and the large audience are a good reason to hold that the 2010 Open Gates Workshop left a deep trace. The presence of more than 500 youngsters from schools and universities of all the country are a strong motivation and a guide that shows the right path to follow.

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