That CIGB and BIOCEN, two BIOCUBAFAMA entities, are part of the select list of High Technology Companies in the country and that Havana and Matanzas have their first Science Technology Parks, are among the most relevant results of science in the recent year concluded.

The head of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (Citma), Elba Rosa Pérez Montoya, announced at a press conference that Matanzas is the host province of the celebration for Cuban Science Day, while the territories of Pinar were highlighted del Río, Villa Clara and Guantánamo. A special recognition was made to Havana for the results and contributions of the sector in the confrontation with Covid-19.

The Citma delegate in Matanzas, Oscar Luis García Martínez, summarized the achievements of 2020 and cited, for example, the application of a technological package developed by the Indio Hatuey Station, which allows the substitution of imported inputs from agroecological techniques, in farms of 65 selected producers.

She illustrated the successes with the applications for the manufacture of three-dimensional biomedical elements such as cranial prostheses using digital technologies (they translate into aesthetic improvements, reduction of surgical time and less aggression to the patient’s health) and other rapid prototyping techniques (they renew

She referred to the constitution of the Scientific and Technological Park, now associated with ICTs, but with the vision of expanding to other areas of knowledge from being located on the campus of the University of Matanzas.

This has the particularity of being a commercial company made up of five shareholders and they have already signed the first export contract (a computerization project worth $ 200,000).

Several companies from Matanzas received the status of Innovative Entity, among these, Cubaron S.A, Cupet (Exploración Producción Centro); Empai, the Agroindustrial Victoria de Girón, Geocuba, Caracol S.A, the Silos Company (EMSIL), and the Indio Hatuey Experimental Station.

When reporting on the main results of the sector in the year just concluded, the Director of Technology and Innovation of Citma, Ruberdanis Tamayo Portales, explained about the reordering of the System of Programs and Projects of Science, Technology and Innovation of Cuba, the approval of 14 National programs and 40 other sectoral programs, which begin their execution in 2021.

“In 2020, 42 territorial programs were executed and a total of 11 companies were submitted to an evaluation to opt for the category of High Technology Company, of which two have already been approved,” he said.

Other achievements and results reported refer to the design and development of equipment for transportation and its sustainability, to the manufacture of forklifts, to the automatic control system of lights in poultry houses, the formulations of liquid fertilizers and automatic systems for fertigation in grow houses and volume, temperature and humidity control systems in grain silos.

Also noteworthy is the creation of the Science Group to deal with COVID-19 and the attached Innovation Committee, with two subgroups, one for epidemiological analysis and prognostic models and the other for psychology.

Among the contributions, he pointed out the importance of the Science Group leading the conception, design and implementation of the national action protocol for Covid-19 (to date there are more than 700 investigations, innovations and observational studies dedicated to the pandemic and 18 clinical trials).