National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) vice-president Nacira Muñoz called La Libertad Avanza (LLA) presidential nominee Javier Mele “ignorant” for proposing to close or privatize Conicet; He stressed that investment in science and technology is “fundamental and structural to global development.”
Javier Miele’s statements about Conicet are irresponsible and dangerous. Conicet is an essential organization for the scientific and technological development of our country, and its proposals will seriously harm Argentine scientific research, “said Muñoz this morning in an interview with FM La Patriada.
The official stressed that this is the “century of knowledge,” and within this framework, “investment in science and technology is fundamental and structural in global development, regardless of political and economic systems, as a priority for countries.”
“The level of his ignorance and irresponsibility in what he says is, on the one hand, astounding, and on the other, sad,” denounced Muñoz, who asked to “discuss such atrocities, speak, debate and reflect on these atrocities.”
One of the points discussed is linking the general scientific system to the private system.
“The state generates public goods from institutions of science and technology that may or may not be appropriated. There are many public goods in which citizens fit for free and a large amount that is appropriated by the private sector,” he differentiated, and emphasized that “when institutions are able to accompany and facilitate the public sector The social impact is much greater.”
In Argentina, in particular, Muñoz stressed that “innovation and investment in science and technology allow for a much better creation and distribution of benefits because it is the most powerful engine of growth and sustainability that society has and the most effective way to improve the social and economic condition of the population.
The INTA Board of Directors also noted statements by Together for Change (JxC) presidential candidate Patricia Bullrich, who disagreed with Milei and stated last night that “science is key.”
Muñoz said that “the suspension of the candidate for the post of president may be real or partially true, but if they consider it a priority they have to invest, and this was not what happened during the previous Mauricio Macri government,” and he indicated that during his statement. Management “There have been budget cuts and layoffs in the science and technology system.”
“I ask him how it would be a priority because if it’s going to see cuts or underinvestment, it’s clearly not a priority,” he said, after which he gave an example of the importance INTA has on a national level. productive system.
At INTA we work with rural entities and the social and productive sectors. He explained that we have joint strategic planning in the long and medium term to address specific problems, and we also produce hard and soft technologies to keep pace with the productive sector with different dimensions.
One case is the production of “a variety of onions, squash and carrots” in Argentina, but also being supplied to the world.
He said that these varieties are “particularly famous for their quality, yield, and efficient use of natural resources,” and are used by multinational companies such as “Knorr and Unilever to prepare soups, broths, and purees.”
He explained that “INTA accompanies rural families in training and technical assistance on the use of solar boiro, in coordination with the Ministry of Energy, especially in places that are very far from the electricity grid.”
Finally, he noted that the agency had developed, through its Institute of Virology, “the first vaccine against bovine leukemia: an endemic viral disease that mainly affects dairy cattle and causes immunosuppression in animals, leading to high costs for farmers.” “Producers”.
He explained that the aforementioned vaccine, in another case of communication with the private sector, will be “marketed inside and outside the country” by the latter. (to blame)
