San José, Nov 16 (EFE).- Students from Costa Rica explored on the Minecraft platform a series of solutions for global networks in agriculture, such as the efficient use of natural resources in the context of population growth, climate change and the reduction of land, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) reported this Thursday.
A total of 107 students between 12 and 18 years old from Costa Rica participated in the ‘Minecraft Education for Agriculture Challenge’ contest, organized by the company Microsoft and IICA, with a secondary team from the Agricultural College of San Carlos (north) winning. .
Children developed solutions in Minecraft Education such as terracing to better improve the soil and reduce erosion, capturing rainwater in crescent-shaped holes in dry, steep terrain to incorporate it into the soil; and the construction of a hydroelectric supply to generate electricity and supply water to the population.
The young winners are Santiago Pacheco, Matías Gutiérrez and Jorge Luis Segura, who spent their second year of agriculture in San Carlos, one of the main agricultural and agricultural areas of Costa Rica.
“Our goal is to expand this ‘Challenge’ to other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to develop skills in young people in the region in areas such as science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics,” said the Education Directorate of Microsoft Central America, Margarita Mulberry.
The Director General of IICA, Manuel Otero, stated that digital technologies are more important in agriculture, which is why they require young people to use and test their applications.
IICA explained that in this first edition of the challenge the objective was to develop digital and gentle skills in young people that contribute to closing technological and general gaps, promoting critical and collaborative thinking, creativity and invention, with the aim of empowering them as agents of exchange.
During the 5 months that the network lasted, students received virtual skills in the use of Minecraft and agricultural topics to build their solutions.
The project that followed the second stage of the competition included the virtual creation of a winter garden for the production of potatoes, wheat, carrots and beets, a drip management system for the efficient use of water and the reduction of production costs , as well as avoiding the formation of fungi on the leaves of wet plants.
The project that came in third place created a model of sustainable society adapted to the needs of citizens and self-sufficient in the production of food and energy, which included the generation of biofuels from biomass, the use of solar panels, energy modules hydroelectric. , mixing beekeeping with agriculture, and the creation of a nature reserve to preserve and protect ecosystems and exploit ecological tourism. EFE
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