Zamorano’s seed plant provides a unique practical learning experience at a university level in Latin America. The plant teaches students to process seeds for industrial purposes, following every preconditioning and conditioning process (drying, cleaning, treatment and packaging). The products they produce comply with the quality standards of internal and external markets.
The plant has specialized equipment, such as a laboratory that determines the moisture level in the seeds, drying machines with capacity for 1000 quintals, equipment used to separate the seeds by size and quality, industrial mills, special scales and two storage silos with the capacity to hold 3,500 and 5,000 quintals respectively.
It is the second largest plant of its kind in Central America. It also supplies the regional infrastructure demand required mainly by multinational businesses that need conditioning services for the distribution of seeds.
Like the dairy plant, this plant receives its raw materials from Zamorano and from local producers where they are separated by producer, variety and place of origin.
Innovation
One of the plant’s major challenges is low cost conservation and storage of seeds. Currently with the help of fourth year students from the Food Agroindustry career, tests with fermentation systems are being implemented. These consist of a considerable reduction, from 20% to 5%, of oxygen used in the chamber, which implies lower refrigeration costs and, in turn, lowers the environmental impact.
Outreach
Zamorano’s seed plant trains grain producers and transforms them into seed producers at a local level. It provides them with courses on subjects, such as irrigation, conditioning, storage and packaging. It is estimated that their transformation to seed production has increased their profits by 20%.
Through the Secretary of Agriculture, an agreement with the Honduran government has been established called the Productive Seed Bonds, which consists of storing grains, such as maize, beans and sorghum to distribute them to producers in times of crisis.
The plant also conditions materials for the Monsanto agricultural products company, in particular with the storage and distribution of commercial hybrids using high technology systems.
Profits
The seed plant’s profits are allocated to the students’ scholarship fund.
