By Perucaña –
Young people learned about the sugarcane agroindustry value chain, its high level of circular economy, and the diversification of its by-products.
With the goal of strengthening the relationship between academia and the private sector, in 2022 the Peruvian Association of Sugar and By-product Agro-industries (Perucaña) created the program “From the Classroom to the Field,” an initiative aimed at providing high-quality training to hundreds of students from public institutions located in the areas of influence of its members. The program’s objectives are to promote joint research with academia, improve youth employability, and contribute to the sustainability of the agroindustry.
Through three master lectures—delivered by industry specialists who present on the value chain, agricultural processes, and industrialization—and a guided visit to one of our member mills, the program fosters both theoretical and practical knowledge in a range of fields connected to the agroindustry, including Agronomy, Food Industries, Agronomic Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Agricultural Production.
Moreover, acknowledging the gap between public and private education, Perucaña covers 100% of the program’s logistics, which include: specialist travel for the lectures, and transportation, lodging, and meals for students during the visits. This ensures that the students can fully focus on learning and training.
To date, more than 1,500 students from various academic cycles at Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Instituto de Educación Técnica Pública “Virgen de Guadalupe,” Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, and Universidad Nacional de Piura have received training and have seen firsthand how this agroindustry generates development and growth in its areas of influence.
Only during the most recent semester, more than 500 students from four of the five regions where Perucaña members operate took part in the initiative: they engaged with specialists from Cartavio and Casa Grande, among others, and visited Agro Industrial Paramonga in Lima, Agroindustrial Laredo in Trujillo, and Caña Brava and Agro Aurora in Piura.
Thanks to the expansion of the program—initially launched in Lima and later extended throughout the northern coast, partly due to student-led promotion on social media—new opportunities with academia have emerged. As a result, in 2024 a pre-professional internship agreement was established with Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina in the Faculties of Agronomy and Food Industries, and in 2025 with Universidad Nacional de Trujillo in the Faculty of Agronomic Engineering. This marks another step forward in the program, truly taking students from the classroom to the field—from universities to sugarcane mills.