PARTICIPANTS

Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas

Centro de Recursos Naturales drenovables de la Zona Semiarida and Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Rosario – Argentina

Responsible: Silvina Pessino & Viviana Echenique

The CENTER FOR RENEWABLE NATURAL RESOURCES OF THE SEMI-ARID AREA (CERZOS after its abbreviation in Spanish) was created in 1980 by initiative of the Agronomy Department of the UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DEL SUR. Through time CERZOS progressively incorporated graduate students, that later became grant holders, teachers, researchers, professionals and technicians who received an integral training in different areas of agro-biology. Today, CERZOS continues to promote creative research of excellent level for the generation of fundamental, technological and biotechnological knowledge.
The geographical region where CERZOS is located – the southwestern area of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina- has a semiarid climate, and a very important sea front, particularly in the Bahia Blanca estuary. Its main economical activities include the petrochemical industry, agricultural and cattle-raising production, agricultural industry and the Small and Medium Enterprises. The latter are diversified in the production of food, metal-mechanics, services and logistics, as well as commerce. Taking into consideration the characteristics of the region where it stands, CERZOS has developed into a research and-at the same time- educational institution; generating, promoting and applying scientific and technological knowledge to the sustainable management of the ecological systems of natural resources within the cultivable and non cultivable semi-arid region in Argentina, and for the production of agricultural food.
At the same time, since 1990 CERZOS has promoted and successfully consolidated its biotechnology research area.
CERZOS is one of the 11 scientific and technological research Units from the SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL CENTER CONICET in Bahía Blanca. It composes, together with the Universidad Nacional del Sur, a very important educational and scientific community with ample influence in local, regional and national spheres.
CERZOS also holds a close relationship with both the Agriculture and the Biology, Biochemistry and Pharmacy departments of the Universidad Nacional del Sur.
Various lines of research were developed through time creating a multiplying effect, allowing the constitution of an Institution that today has more than 100 people, with over 30 researchers and more than 20 Research Assistants. In this context, 10 lines of research are being developed.
As well as the research activities, and the usual transference activities such as training courses for farmers, Workshops, Seminars and Conferences, CERZOS provides specialized analytic services, through two of its laboratories, responding to the needs of both the public and private sectors.
CERZOS also has an agricultural-meteorological net composed of nine automatic stations and three limnigraphs placed in the Sauce Grande River basin. These are used by our weatherman to provide useful information for Research Projects and to forecast weather as a service for producers and for the community through local and regional media as well as through the Internet.
These transference activities have been very successful experiences that constitute an important Institutional precedent in the generation of services.
Because of all this CERZOS has become a vigorous and dynamic Institution at the service of Argentina´s growth and development.