EN 
PT_BR 
A new regional network of cultivars of soy The project aims to improve the evaluation of varieties and expand producers' access to comparable information for decision-making. According to data released by the Argentine government, the project brings together researchers from Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Colombia, and Peru, with participation from INTA and support from the University of Florida. The initiative, called the Regional Network for Variety Evaluation, Productivity Gap Reduction, and Innovation Transfer (RRECSO-Americas), is funded by Fontagro and implemented by the ArgenINTA Foundation.
The project is based on the Argentine National Network for Soybean Cultivar Evaluation (RECSO), coordinated by Cristian Vissani, a researcher at INTA. The model combines public-private partnerships, standardized methodology, shared financing, technical quality, and information transfer to the agricultural sector.
During the launch meeting, Eugenia Saini, executive secretary of Fontagro, stated: “It is a pleasure to share this initiative with you.” She also thanked the University of Florida and its representatives.
Saini also highlighted the importance of Fontagro in promoting science and technology projects. “Fontagro has a unique characteristic: when the Board of Directors decides to fund a project, consortia of countries work simultaneously, with researchers forming an alliance where validation is carried out, connecting with the private sector according to their needs.”
According to data released by the Argentine government, Saini also emphasized that "in 30 years, this is the first time we have invested in soybeans" and added that "if new needs arise from the implementation of this project, we can meet them and move forward with a new project."
Carlos Messina, director of the UF/IFAS Center for Cultural Transformation at the University of Florida, also participated in the launch. “I appreciate the opportunity to participate. I am very excited about this initiative to conduct scientific evaluations and research. Although the United States is not a member of Fontagro, thanks to Eugenia, we can participate,” he stated.
Messina added: "We are very happy to be part of something great and with a future."
Cristian Vissani, national coordinator of RECSO and researcher at INTA, welcomed the participants and thanked Fontagro for the institutional structure, as well as the authorities from INTA, ASA and ACSOJA, the companies involved and the participating researchers. “We wanted to take a step forward and be able to include other countries in the evaluation of soybean cultivars. I am very pleased with this meeting,” Vissani emphasized.
According to data released by the Argentine government, the researcher explained that the proposal aims to create a regional network of trials to identify better-adapted cultivars and support production decisions. "This is a regional network of soybean trials to identify better-adapted cultivars and support production decisions," Vissani noted.
According to the researcher, "the project aims to develop national networks and a regional network for comparative yield trials under the same protocol."
One of the central points of RRECSO-Americas will be the evaluation of genotypes from different maturity groups in more than 180 environments during the development of the project.
To this end, the initiative foresees the adoption of a common methodology among participating countries, with a baseline for each country, a unified protocol manual, and regional databases. These databases should integrate environmental and cultivation variables, allowing for comparison of results from different environments and production systems.
The initial meeting also made progress on the technical organization of the network. Among the planned activities are a meeting of leading researchers from each country and the establishment of a national reference database. Meanwhile, the INTA RECSO Technical Committee will be responsible for work related to the network's governance and protocols, as well as the methodology for comparative yield trials in microplots.
According to data released by the Argentine government, INTA's participation will play a central role in structuring the initiative. The technical workshop addresses topics related to ecophysiology and soybean management, diseases, early warning systems for pests, and genetics.
Among the invited experts are Marco Murgio, Lisandro Lenzi, Emilia Balbi, and Cristian Vissani, all researchers at INTA. The proposal aims to integrate information from different countries to improve the evaluation of cultivar performance in diverse environments.
The project estimate considers approximately 5,000 producers as direct beneficiaries. The initiative is also expected to reach 15 seed companies and 500 technical consultants. In addition to this audience, research and extension teams from participating national agricultural research institutes are also included.
According to data released by the Argentine government, the regional structure aims to expand the availability of technical information to support the selection of cultivars and reduce productivity gaps in participating countries. The expectation is that the standardization of trials and the integration of information will allow for comparisons of the performance of different genotypes in multiple environments, strengthening the transfer of innovation to the agricultural sector.
