HoCoTec, a leader in the pork production and pork production industry, has the most qualified experts to provide a product of the highest quality, as well as a totally immersive experience of knowledge and science applied to the field.
Please tell us a little about your professional career, related to pork production.
My work in the swine industry dates back to 2001, I have worked as a pig breeding professor in parallel with the work with different NGOs focused on Animal Welfare and doing external consultancies to companies in the pig industry.
I have always focused on being able to offer the industry a vision focused on animal welfare as a critical ally of productivity, and this has become a very important tool for the industry, since Colombia has prepared (and is preparing) very well to apply concepts of animal welfare in the pig industry.
What is the biggest contribution you have made to the growth of HoCoTec?
Thanks to my experience and what I have learned, my contribution could be summarized in two main aspects: One, is to promote the concepts of animal welfare in the practices of swine production. Being a farm approved by the Dutch standards of animal welfare in pig farming is a great step forward and a great satisfaction.
Additionally, I believe that we have focused on changing the concept of training through immersive experiences for pig farmers, which offer us a lot of knowledge exchange and the possibility of applying them in upcoming projects and trainings.
Why did you decide to be part of this project?
I met HoCoTec working in another company, first as a commercial ally. After a while, the HoCoTec team became interested in my experience and contributions in the industry, so they decided to continue counting on me to achieve a sustainable production. I was also interested because HoCoTec brought an innovative proposal, which includes social welfare and animal welfare.
In your opinion, what is the basis of a successful business focused on pork production?
I would like to paraphrase: “If you focus on the costs, the quality goes down. If you focus on quality, costs go down. ” HoCoTec focuses on quality, and this must be the basis of a solid business, as far as swine production is concerned. We have transformed the pig industry business because we make a difference by being an internationally recognized school farm, and a point of reference for the industry.
Tell us about an anecdote or special moment you have lived in the HoCoTec Farm.
The first time I spoke with someone from HoCoTec I worked with an NGO and they thought I was a “spy” who wanted to record them with a hidden camera and then report them to the public. The issue of animal welfare in some sectors of the industry was seen as something related to animal protests and that could affect the image of companies focused on pig farming.
Fortunately, during one of my talks, the vision I raised about animal welfare and its close relationship with better productivity made the HoCoTec team pay attention to my knowledge and experience to make it a reality. It is evident that no producer of quality pigs under the highest standards, will want that their animals (in this case the pigs) suffer some type of mistreatment or damage.
Why would you recommend a student or entrepreneur in the industry to be trained in any of the modules we offer at HoCoTec?
HoCoTec is actually a world-class benchmark against the industry, so the most important reasons would be:
Because we handle processes and concepts that break paradigms, for example, production without antibiotics.
We work through providing an immersive experience, where all the concepts we have studied are demonstrated in the field; we are a company based on applied science, with proven results in the field.
