The president of the Andalusian Institute for Research and Training in Agriculture, Fisheries, Food, and Organic Production (Ifapa), Marta Bosquet, has attended in Hinojosa del Duque (Córdoba) the opening of a new edition of the Master Cheesemaker 4.0 course, a comprehensive training program aimed at setting up dairy businesses and producing cheeses using different technologies.
Bosquet has underlined that "the main objective of this training is the development and professionalization of the Andalusian dairy sector to improve its profitability, also contributing to retaining population in rural territories, where livestock farming and processing industries are located in our community".
Likewise, he has highlighted the work of Ifapa through the Pilot Plant of Dairy Products of Andalusia, "which has trained 710 students in these years, many of whom have created their own cheese factories and are winning numerous awards and recognitions".
The meeting held at the Ifapa center in Hinojosa del Duque, with the presence of students from the Cheesemaker 4.0 course and various industry professionals, focused on the relationship between cheesemaking tradition and innovation in Andalusia, and included several specialized presentations, practical demonstrations, and pairings.
In one of the interventions, the coordinator of the training project in the dairy sector of Ifapa, Ángel Luis López, focused on innovation from the origin in the field of training and on the role of Ifapa in the excellence of the Andalusian cheese sector.
On the other hand, the coordinator of Cheese Master Spain, Guillermina Sánchez-Cerezo, presented during the day the horizons of Andalusian cheese through a sensory journey with a global focus, while the co-owner of "Quesos y besos", Silvia Pelaez, focused her presentation on tradition, innovation, and the emotion of cheeses with soul.
The program has been completed with an exhibition on how to prepare cheese boards and tables to highlight the importance of presentation in the dairy business, led by Esther Alfaro, manager of a specialized cheese shop in Córdoba, in addition to a tasting and evaluation of Andalusian cheeses and pairings made with products of differentiated quality.
Milky formation at Ifapa
This training itinerary represents the update of the previous Specialist in Cheesemaking course offered by Ifapa, reorganizing its structure to better adjust to the professional demands of technicians. To this end, distance learning has been enhanced and new modules related to automation and sensorization in dairy industries have been incorporated.
The training will be developed until next October, with a total of 460 teaching hours distributed in eight theoretical/practical modules and a final module of 80 hours of internships in reference dairy companies. The course, coordinated by the specialist technician of Ifapa Ángel Luis López, is taught in a blended learning modality with headquarters at the institute's center in Hinojosa del Duque.
In this second call, 20 students participate, 14 women and six men, who represent diverse professional profiles: from technicians who already manage a dairy industry and seek to improve their skills, to people who aspire to start a new cheese factory to add value to primary production or as a means of self-employment.
The notable presence of women and young people from various Andalusian provinces and other autonomous communities shows the rise of a sector that unites agri-food tradition, technological innovation, and new entrepreneurship options in rural areas. Throughout the course, students will receive training from renowned national specialists in both production techniques and business modules.
The program will also incorporate state-of-the-art technologies thanks to the recent acquisition of equipment that keeps the infrastructure of the Andalusia Dairy Pilot Plant up-to-date, such as the automated vat and salting machine, the ice water bath, the hot mixer for processed cheeses and desserts, and various sensors that improve the efficiency and quality of the final product.
During the sessions, new developments and methods for making cheeses and other dairy products obtained in recent years from various Ifapa research projects will also be transferred, thus favoring the modernization of the sector and the birth of innovative cheese dairies in Andalusia.