University of Agricultural Engineering
 | |
| Abbreviation | INEA |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Nevares Institute of Agricultural Employers |
| Established | 1964 |
| Location |
|
Director | Felix Revilla, SJ |
| Affiliations |
Jesuit, Catholic University of Valladolid |
| Website | INEA |
University of Agricultural Engineering, Valladolid, is an undertaking of the Society of Jesus which began in 1964 as the Nevares Institute of Agricultural Employers (INEA). It is currently affiliated with the University of Valladolid.
History
The Nevares Institute of Agricultural Employers (INEA) was founded in 1964 in Valladolid by Jesuit Fr. Jose Fernandez Quintanilla, as a response to the absence of people with entrepreneurial training in the farming community. The Institute was named after the Jesuit Fr. Sisinio Nevares who founded Catholic Trade Unions in the 1930s.
In 1965 the Institute received Ministerial recognition and was attached to the School of Agronomists of Madrid, for its three-year undergraduate course. By 1969 it would move to its present location on Old Road, Simancas. The course was called Intermediate Level in Agricultural Engineering in Management of Agricultural Companies until 1981 when the INEA became affiliated with the University of Valladolid. In these first 16 years it had educated 1,960 students. From the start in 1965 INEA offered distance learning classes, accommodating 2,675 students by 1992. From 1977 until 1990 the school also graduated 240 students in vocational training ("First Grade Agrario") in agriculture. Two other such centers were begun by the Jesuits in 1976 with the support of the Institute of Agrarian Reform and Development (IRYDA), a federation of centers called EFEA (Federated Agricultural Schools), from which came the Pyrenean Institute of Agricultural Entrepreneurs (IPEA), opened in October 1976 in Sabinanigo, Huesca, and IBEA, opened in Badajoz in October 1977. Neither of these two new centers remain open.[1]
Programs
INEA sponsors e-learning courses[2] including the post-graduate level,[3] three of which are mentioned on the website of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.[4]
Since 1985 INEA has operated a laboratory for agricultural analysis, including free services for Third World countries. Areas covered include soil and water, fertilizers and seeds, proteins, and vineyard, vegetable, and fruit products. Techniques used include atomic absorption, spectrophotometry, selective electrodes, pHmetro, conductivity, Soxhlet extractor, and the Kjeldahl method.[5]
Research and publication is also part of the output at INEA, on topics like "Organic Cereal/Forage Legume Rotation"[6] and "The Rhizobia Nodulating Shrubs for Revegetation of Arid Lands."[7]
Since 2012 INEA has been sponsoring Bioyantar, an agroecological fair which brings together 50 exhibitors and 50 experts to discuss various aspects of soil treatment. The Spanish Society of Organic Agriculture SEAE is a co-sponsor. In 2015 the conference was dedicated to assess to a decent education and the eradication of child poverty.[8][9]
Since 2006 an annual Ecological and Solidarity Market event brings about 400 growers of organic crops together to sell their produce for the benefit of a charitable cause. It is generating about 30,000 euros each year, which goes to countries like Honduras, Congo, Mozambique, and Mindanao, Philippines.[10]
References
- ↑ History. Accessed 16 June 2016.
- ↑ On-line. Accessed 16 June 2016.
- ↑ Post-grad. Accessed 16 June 2016.
- ↑ UNCCD. Accessed 16 June 2016.
- ↑ Laboratory. Accessed 16 June 2016.
- ↑ Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, Vol 37, 2, 2013.
- ↑ Arid Land Research and Management, Vol 19, 4, 2005.
- ↑ Bioyantar. Accessed 16 June 2016.
- ↑ UTube. Accessed 16 June 2016.
- ↑ Organic market. Accessed 16 June 2016.
Coordinates: 41°36′14.88″N 4°47′34.18″W / 41.6041333°N 4.7928278°W