Inter-institutional Master's Degree in Protected Agriculture

The Inter-Institutional Master's Degree in Protected Agriculture is an educational program created through collaboration between the Autonomous University of Aguascalientes, the University of Colima, the University of Guadalajara, the University of Guanajuato, the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, the Autonomous University of Nayarit and the Autonomous University of Sinaloa. Through inter-institutional work, it is intended to merge the academic and administrative strengths of each institution, to offer a quality master's program that allows the training of competent professionals in diagnosis, climate management, water and nutrients, innovation and planning, who act in strengthening the development of production systems for vegetables, strawberries, ornamental crops and nurseries in protected environments.

Protected agriculture constitutes a cultivation system with extensive production and market advantages, compared to traditional systems, since it allows obtaining quality products for both the national and export markets.

Despite the importance of this agricultural item, there are limitations in its development linked to insufficient technical assistance and the absence of professional training programs to have qualified human resources in technical, operational, managerial and commercial processes. In this sense, the Inter-institutional Master's Degree in Protected Agriculture is an educational proposal that aims to promote the development of agriculture in the country.

goals

Train professionals with a high degree of specialization, competitive, capable of innovating and applying techniques and technologies in the production systems of vegetables, strawberries, ornamental crops and nursery in high-tech tunnel, shade house and greenhouse, which meet the demands of the fruit and vegetable sector for the region and that contribute to increasing quality production through an entrepreneurial, responsible attitude, teamwork and respect for the environment.

Graduation profile

The graduate of the Inter-institutional Master's Degree in Protected Agriculture will be a professional with technical and scientific bases, competent in diagnosis; climate management, water, nutrients, phytosanitary management and safety; innovation and planning, to contribute to strengthening the development of production systems for vegetables, strawberries, ornamental crops and nursery in high-tech tunnels, shade houses and greenhouses. The skills of this professional will allow them to work in protected agriculture companies at the production or managerial level, advisory or consulting firms, government programs and self-employment.

To achieve a competent professional exercise, the Master in Protected Agriculture must develop the following theoretical, methodological and axiological knowledge.

Knowledge about:

• Legal and regulatory foundations of quality manuals to implement programs of good agricultural practices during the greenhouse production process.
• Technical and scientific bases of the different production systems in protected agriculture using soil or hydroponic systems.
• Ecophysiological and agronomic principles for the management of protected crops, as well as their phenological phases.
• Biotic and abiotic factors that influence agricultural production in protected environments and their effect on the growth, development, and quality of harvested products.
• Standardized procedures for physical and chemical analysis of soil, substrates, water and plants.
• Climatic and nutritional requirements of crops.
• Pressurized irrigation systems, components, as well as their manual and automated operation.
• Operation of cooling and heating systems that can be used in greenhouses, their components and operating costs.
• Design and materials used in the construction of structures for protected agriculture.
• Harvest indicators and factors that affect post-harvest life to maintain product quality.
• Distinguish the ideal pre-cooling and cooling conditions for fruit and vegetable and ornamental products.
• Business models and methodologies for economic analysis that allow you to calculate the investment and production costs of protected agriculture systems.
• Commercial management and logistics processes used in commercial farms of protected agriculture, to increase the competitiveness of the company.
• Aspects related to the management and administration processes of human resources and their impact on the different activities that take place in the productive processes of protected crops.
• Technical principles for the use of specialized software and computer resources for the management of technical and scientific information that allows solving production problems and promoting product and process innovation.
• New technologies, automated and robotic systems that exist in the current market for use in greenhouse production, their advantages, limitations and implementation costs.

Abilities:

• Implement good agricultural practices programs in the production of protected crops, to obtain safe products of high commercial quality, considering the influence of climatic factors on crop physiology.
• Improve production through the implementation and evaluation of adequate alternatives for agronomic management of water, climate, soil, substrates, nutrition and phytosanitary control, in the different phenological stages of crops.
• Diagnose and intervene in protected production systems knowing the controllable and uncontrollable factors.
• Diagnose pests and diseases in crops, apply physical, chemical, and biological control methods and preserve the safety of harvested products.
• Design plant nutrition programs in crops according to their phenological state, based on the results of the physical and chemical analysis of water, soil, substrate and plant.
• Estimate water consumption by plants according to crop requirements during their phenological phases, based on the production system.
• Select and manage the cooling or heating system, manual or automatic operation in a greenhouse based on the requirements of the established crops and the cost-benefit ratio.
• Select the most suitable type, design and material for the construction of structures for protected agriculture according to the conditions of the region.
• Apply good post-harvest handling practices, which allow preserving the quality of harvested products, until the final consumer.
• Use an effective logistics system from the harvest of products to the selection, packaging and shipping process.
• Design and execute technical projects of protected agriculture based on the analysis of the macro and microeconomic environment.
• Prepare business plans and innovation projects for protected crops that allow improving and increasing the productivity and profitability of the company.
• Implement a quality certification system and traceability of harvested products for export and national markets.
• Determine the personnel requirements to attend to the different tasks of the production process of protected crops and implement techniques to improve their performance.
• Manage technical and scientific information, through the use of computer tools, to promote product and process innovation.
• Adequate management of the software to operate pressurized fertigation systems and heating and cooling systems in a greenhouse, depending on the requirements of the protected crops.

Attitudes and Values:

• Entrepreneurial attitude and ability to work in a team.
• Professional responsibility and respect for legality in the use of physical, chemical and biological methods applied to production systems in protected environments, which prevent environmental deterioration.
• Creativity to generate alternative solutions to agronomic problems, related to crop management.
• Responsibility in decision-making, in the management of economic and environmental resources.
• Develop leadership capacity, respect and impartiality in personnel management.

Requirements to obtain the degree

In order to provide flexibility in obtaining the degree, the program proposes three options, which respond to the training of both the professionalization of the program and the promotion of scientific research.

1. Transfer modality and technological innovation

Its purpose is to present a proposal, as a result of theoretical and practical training, which can be oriented to one of the following areas:

• Validation, transfer, and adaptation of technology. It is the process by which the knowledge generated in the investigation is transmitted in its field of application to the end user.
• Technology for saving and efficient use of water and/or energy. Processes aimed at making efficient use of water and energy, in the production processes of protected agriculture.
• Technological package. Set of technological innovation techniques, to improve the productive conditions of farmers.
• Innovation and development of new products and processes. Its purpose is to validate new technologies in the productive processes of protected agriculture.
• State-of-the-art ecological technology, green innovation and sustainability and sustainability. It is about the incorporation of innovative technologies with low environmental impact, to the productive processes of protected agriculture with the philosophy of sustainability and sustainability of the agro-system.

2. Productivity and competitiveness studies, new business models

In order to maintain flexibility in obtaining the degree, the program proposes the following degree work options regarding productivity and competitiveness studies, new business models, which respond to the training of both the professionalization of the program and promotion to scientific research.

• 1. Productivity studies: The student may present a final work resulting from a proposal or application for improvement regarding their Business Management systems (Administration, Finance or marketing) to a company producing or marketing protected agriculture products, being able to obtain the next products.
  • Financial feasibility analysis: A job where a study on the feasibility of investment projects in the company is proposed to a company, in order to contribute to decision making.
  • Commercial feasibility analysis: A job where an organization is proposed a study on the commercial feasibility of a production or commercialization company of Protected Agriculture, in order to know if the performance of the current or potential market adjusts to the needs of it.
  • Proposal or application of commercial strategy: A work will be developed where it is intended to develop a proposal for the improvement of commercial strategies that allow companies to position themselves in their current or potential market to increase their performance in it and allow the achievement of the objectives commercial objectives defined by the company.
  • Proposal or application for improvement of management systems: A job will be carried out in which a diagnosis is made to identify areas of opportunity for improvement in the company's management systems, or the application of a proposal developed by the company that supports the current management systems of the organization, which will include the different business functions such as the financial, marketing, production and human resources areas.

3. Thesis

The thesis is an unpublished, individual research work, whose objective is for the student to demonstrate the acquired knowledge and skills in the use of research methods and techniques, management of sources of consultation and information, as well as argumentative coherence and clarity in the drafting.