Regional Center of Excellence for Latin America and the Caribbean in Pesticide Sciences (CECP)

Overview

Launched in June 2023, the Regional Center of Excellence for Latin America and the Caribbean in Pesticide Sciences (CECP) is a training and education center jointly developed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Services (USDA FAS), Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF), and the Minor Use Foundation. The Center is located at  Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogotá, Colombia, and has a focus on capacity development in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries.

Training at the Center focuses on field and laboratory work covering Good Laboratory Practices (GLP), calibrations, sampling, sample processing, calculations, use of the field data notebook, Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), quality assurance audits, and studies in biopesticides. It provides an opportunity to exchange views with colleagues from the regions and make important connections.

The Center is a key development in our efforts to build a network of professionals to efficiently and effectively carry out residue trials to expand the tools farmers can use in protecting their crops. It will help us ensure the next generation of researchers is well trained to support the development of Codex MRLs.

Learn more about the Center of Excellence from CECP host National University of Colombia (UNAL).

Training Activity

The Center of Excellence launched in 2023 and holds annual trainings on field trials under Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and pesticide residue analysis under GLP.

55 Participants Trained to Date

Trainees from 15 Countries

2023 Training Event

The first training at CECP was held June 26-30, 2023, with 20 participants including scientists and government officials from 9 countries representing: Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, and Peru. Half of the group attended GLP training for field trials and the other half for GLP laboratory analysis training.

View photos from the 2023 training event.

2024 Training Event

The second training was carried out from June 17-21, 2024, with 35 participants representing a range of stakeholder groups including government officials, academia, associations and growers, scientists, and chemical industry representatives. Participants were from 15 countries including Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and the U.S. More than half of the group (21 participants) attended GLP training in the field and 14 participants attended GLP training in the laboratory.

View photos from the 2024 training event.

Participant Testimonials

Hear what past participants have to say:

About CECP: Instructors

Adriana González-Almario, from Bogotá, Colombia, is a microbiologist with a master’s degree in biology and a doctorate in plant-pathogen interaction from the University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse III in France. She has worked, among other institutions at the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA), and is currently a professor at the UNAL, Bogotá at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences.  Her areas of teaching and research are plant pathology, molecular plant-pathogen interaction, and molecular detection of plant pathogens.

María José Martínez-Cordón, from Spain, is a chemist from the University of Jaén in Spain with a doctorate in chemical sciences from the University of Córdoba, with a thesis focused on the environmental fate of pesticides. María José is a professor at the Department of Chemistry at UNAL, and is part of the research group “Residuality and environmental fate of pesticides in agricultural systems.”

Sandra Gómez-Caro, from Bogotá, Colombia, is an agronomist and has a master’s in agricultural sciences with emphasis on phytopathology, as well as a doctorate in agricultural sciences with emphasis on phytopathology from the University of Bonn, Germany. She has worked with flower production companies and on research projects at the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University, Bogotá. She is currently a professor at the UNAL Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Bogotá headquarters. She belongs to the Integrated Pest Management and Horticulture Research group. Its subjects are phytopathology, plant clinic, and disease management.

Augusto Ramírez-Godoy, from Palmira, Colombia, is an agricultural engineer with a master’s in agricultural sciences and doctorate in agricultural sciences with an emphasis in entomology from UNAL. He is currently a professor at the UNAL Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Bogotá headquarters, and belongs to the research and teaching groups in integrated pest management, pesticides, biological control, acarology and integrated pest management. 

Jairo Arturo Guerrero Dallos, from Bogotá, Colombia, has an undergraduate degree in chemistry and physics, with a master´s in chemical sciences, and PhD in chemical sciences from the Technion Institute of Technology in Israel. His research includes chromatography, pesticides and quality management in laboratories. Since 1994, he has been a Full Professor of the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences at UNAL and Coordinator and Director of the Pesticide Residue Analysis Laboratory. He is also Principal Investigator of the research group “Residuality and environmental fate of pesticides in agricultural systems.”

About the Host: National University of Colombia (UNAL)

The National University of Colombia, founded in 1867, is the successor of the Central University of the Republic, established in 1826. It was created with the objective of satisfying the country’s need to educate the population free of charge in professional areas and improve social conditions and economic interests of Colombians after independence, being the first public university in the Republic.

In its beginnings, the University included the faculties of Arts and Crafts, Engineering, Medicine, Law and Natural Sciences, and institutions such as the Astronomical Observatory and the Military Hospital were integrated.

Focused on promoting access to education, UNAL currently has nine locations throughout the country and offers 95 undergraduate programs, 80 specializations, 165 master’s degrees and 64 doctorates. It is a leader in scientific production in Colombia, contributing 28% of national production. Since 2009, it has developed more than 10,000 extension projects, benefiting 5 million citizens.

The University’s vision is to contribute to national unity, enrich cultural and natural heritage, create knowledge in sciences and arts, train critical and committed professionals, and promote democratic values. In addition, it seeks to support the State in scientific-technological areas, promote access to quality higher education and stimulate student integration and participation.