Despite the travel break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, USSEC has continued to work virtually with key audiences to promote the use of U.S. Soy. In the Americas region, the USSEC team has begun to use teleconferencing approaches with target audiences who have the capacity and the desire to do so, including aquaculture feed mills as well as aquaculture producers.
During the month of April, USSEC worked with fish producers Grupo ACI (Costa Rica) and ASYA (Colombia) along with aquafeed plant Italcol (Colombia) through four Zoom teleconferences. More than 450 people including owners, technical managers, operators, and personnel from the technical and commercial areas of the feed plant, as well as USSEC consultants Esau Arana and Jairo Amezquita were connected during the events, learning about In Pond Raceway System (IPRS) technology and reviewing details for its implementation. USSEC appreciates the interest of the industry in the constant search for efficiency, sustainability, and profitability, despite the difficult situation that the industry and the world is going through. After the guided trainings, several prospects have shown considerable interest in IPRS and have requested USSEC support for its next implementation.
USSEC consultants continue to provide remote support until there is an opportunity to return to the field and prepare field demonstrations that will allow producers to be more certain of the investment and thus verify the benefits. There are more than 250 cells or raceways currently in the region operating productively and profitably with more than 50 under construction, located mainly in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Colombia.
USSEC Americas will continue to work to incorporate teleconferencing approaches so that key experts can reach target audiences remotely. While the ideal situation for technical and business service is and will continue to be physical meetings, USSEC has adapted to continue working with the industry in the best possible way. This includes teleconferencing approaches when feasible, allowing the organization to engage with key audiences, no matter the challenges. In this way, USSEC will continue promoting the use of U.S. Soy in aquaculture diets as the most sustainable vegetable protein in the world.