16th International Congress on Sugar and Sugar Derivatives (Diversification 2022) begins on Monday with delegates from the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Havana, June 20 (RHC)-- The 16th International Congress on Sugar and Sugar Derivatives (Diversification 2022) begins on Monday with delegates from the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa.

The conclave will be attended by more than 200 representatives from 17 nations including Cuba, as well as Germany, Austria, Colombia, Spain, France, Guatemala, India, Tanzania, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Sweden, Brazil, China, Peru, Norway and Canada.

Diversification 2022 will seek to contribute to the transformation of the sugar agroindustry, based on the application of the governance and innovation system, said Mariela Gallardo, general director of the Cuban Institute of Sugarcane Derivatives Research (Icidca).

It is a mixed event (face-to-face and virtual), of scientific and commercial character, which will examine the research results of the last years in the knowledge and in the introduction of achievements in the production of sugar and derivatives, she added.

The first will be given by the executive director of the International Sugar Organization (ISO), Guatemalan José Orive, who will speak about new trends in the sugar field.

The other two will deal with Sugarcane and pandemic What's next? and Bioproducts, a circular economy approach for agricultural sustainability in Cuba, which will be presented by Manuel Enriquez Poy, general director of Mexico's Motzorongo Group, and Ana Nelis San Juan, director of Biotechnology at Cuban Institute of Sugarcane Derivatives Research, respectively.

According to the organizers, the topics that will guide the discussions, in addition to human and animal food, include sugarcane agriculture, sugar technology and industrial equipment, research on renewable energy sources for the sugar industry and development of derivatives (alcohols, rums, beverages and sorbitol).

They also cover derivatives of cellulose fiber and lignin from sugarcane bagasse, bioproducts and organic fertilizers for agriculture, value chains and competitiveness of sugar and derivatives, climate change, and environmental and quality management.

The forum was initially scheduled for 2021, but was postponed due to the international and national situation at the time due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It was preceded by the holding of three workshops related to Varieties, seed and plant health of sugarcane, Agricultural Extension, Bioproducts, and an active one on Biological control.   The main activities included a scientific event and a business forum.

the Cuban Institute of Sugarcane Derivatives Research, which belongs to the Azcuba Business Group, has been organizing these international meetings on topics related to sugarcane, its derivatives and co-products since 1983.