Last July was held in Medellin, the Porciaméricas XV Congress organized by the Colombian Association of Pork, with the assistance of more than 800 delegates, mainly from Central and South America.

The 3 days conference program was dealing with aspects related to health, reproduction, nutrition, production and marketing. Rafael Pallás of KUBUS SA, contributed talking about "Factors affecting fertility and prolificacy of sows", reviewing those factors and recent trends in applied reproductive techniques. Carlos Pineiro, PigCHAMP Pro Europa, SA, introduced the theme "Information Management: Key indicators in pig production", explaining the criteria in making decisions and the procedure to have a system for monitoring the proper information to the needs of each producer. Finally, a note to the quality approach being promoted by the Association of Pig Farmers of Colombia for pork producers in the country, incorporating criteria for improving health, environmental and welfare within a framework of imperative competitiveness today. Interesting addition to the technical and scientific issues, the participants (speakers and conference participants), had the opportunity to enjoy a fantastic dinner of integration in the Medellin Botanical Garden.

The Conference was closed by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Colombia Dr. Andres Acosta Fernandez.