Developing Human Capital and Bioeconomics

The concept and notion of “Human Capital” refers to the accumulation of a set of mastered skills and applicable knowledge that is an intrinsic part of the capacity and ability of individuals (humans) to perform, execute, and carry out labor. Labor is a precious commodity. It is a measure of the work done by human beings so as to produce an economic value, which is the value of the labor itself, and the value of its use as to produce a worth in exchange for the labor.

These abilities that make up the human capital are highly diversified and heterogeneous; with high and low ends in technology and knowledge, and all require expertise to yield a value. The ability to perform labor that requires high technological level and vast knowledge does not necessarily mean that this labor will yield a higher value in exchange. An example of this is that in impoverished countries a nanotechnology engineer will struggle to survive and to find a job, while a construction worker will earn his living with less difficulty and more opportunities.

In order for a nation to attain a relevant advantage and effectively benefit from a superior output of manufacturing, it needs to be in possession and control of a particular resource or commodity. This particular resource can also be a particular technique or knowledge that enhance and escalate production proficiency by reducing the need for massive supplies and resources, or it can be a labor stock, a fungible resource whose distinctive pieces are capable of reciprocal substitution, or a “know-how” principle, thus reducing the adverse risk of changes in international trade that are normally ruled by the technological levels, sophistication, and complexity of countries.

So how do we develop the Human Capital to become effective and to produce a high value in exchange?

I think the answer to this riddle resides in the application of Bioeconomics to Human Capital. According to the American economist Gary Becker (1930- ), we use sociobiology to explain human behavior in a capitalist economic system, where maximizing the focus of behavior, the market equilibrium and established inclination is the key for an effective and sustainable economic approach. I do believe that there is also the necessity to generate fungible resources, standardized and easily interchangeable to uphold and cultivate labor, commodities, and markets. This would lead to a decrease and lessening of the unwelcomed effects of the technological gap between countries that have a cut throat trade advantage because of their tremendous ability to innovate and those that do not. A country can be extremely efficient and have technological advantages, but it might be vulnerable to trade because of its excessive internal production costs.

So, how does all of this work?

The formula is very simple, but the concept and its implementation are more difficult and tricky to put into practice. In theory, when a community, a region, or country is in economic disarray, sometimes the integration of bioeconomics into the Human Capital happens out of despair and sometimes need.

Let’s take rice, for example. Rice is fundamental in Asia, and it has a long and interesting history.

In regions of Asia, scientists believe that after the lands inhabited by humans were flooded, all living vegetation, plants, and flora were destroyed. This brought animal extinction, thus making hunting very difficult, and sustainment for human beings was extremely difficult, if not impossible. One day, as the ancient, but popular story goes, a dog came scampering across a hunting field, and it was sighted by the Chinese people who were looking for prey in the field. As they approached the dog, they noticed that the dog’s fur was scattered with some unusual yellow seeds affixed to it. The Chinese people thought that it could be seeds and not knowing what these kernels were, they tasted them, bite them, and finally planted them. As a result, according to the folkloric story, rice grew out of these seeds.

All of the sudden, this small, miraculous grain that awkwardly arrived on a dog’s back, fed tens of millions of people for extended periods of time, longer than any other known grain did until that time. Several species of rice are in existence, but it is widely believed that rice species were developed from other forms of it, towards the end of the Tertiary Period, almost at the end of the Miocene Epoch and the beginning of the Pliocene Epoch, approximately 15 million years ago. We humans showed up next in the Quaternary Period, about 1.6 million years ago.

Early evidence from archeologists’ findings showed that rice was a commodity and a significant economic factor dating back as early as 2500 BC during the late Neolithic period in the Yangtze basin. In 1966, an important discovery in South East Asia was made by Wilhelm G. Solheim II, an American anthropologist, son of Wilhelm G. Solheim I, a botanist. He found fragments and remains of pottery that had clear imprints of rice on them. These olden ceramic objects were discovered in Nakorn Ratchasima, Thailand, known today as Korat city. Following extensive testing and authenticity trials, it was established devoid of doubts that these vestiges dated back to 4000 BC.

The Chinese people in due course gave rise to a process of growing and producing rice, developed knowledge to do it properly, and employed tens of thousands of people to bring to fruition this massive industry. Today, this long-standing system is still widely used in China and in other countries. Over the years, this process that grew out of necessity, tamed and integrated rice into China’s socio-economics.

So there you have it. An alliance between human capital and bioeconomics was born out of desperation and necessity, and this relationship is still alive and productive. No knowledge and, or skills were present at the beginning, but they were developed and incorporated later.

Now, can we create today a model combining Human Capital and Bioeconomics?

Yes, in my humble opinion, of course we can.
I have been working on the development of a socio-economic and geopolitical model with a large foundation that rests on an industry of eco-products and bio-commodities, and with the intention to foster a profitable business, but at the same time, acting from a sense of fiduciary duty, responsibility, and conscientiousness to Human Capital.

I faithfully believe that today in several parts of the globe exist unexploited gold mines of opportunity based on bioeconomics, powered by Human Capital, and backed by the “know-how” principle. I believe these are the three magic ingredients for the healthy and prosperous development of regions, countries, and humans.

Paradigm.

History has had an instrumental influence on the model of this project, specifically by the historic annals of the Magnoliophyta Agavaceae plants, and the peninsula of Yucatán, México. Ancient history, vast wealth, and frantic industry rendezvous in this fraction of the planet to give birth to a golden era. Like everything else, this utopia evolved, and near the 1850s, the fate of this industry changed radically. Industry practices, science, technology and the omnipotent progress of commerce rendered vulnerable this trade in Yucatán, and before long brought the industry to its knees. The wealth in Yucatán has been dormant since. Today, the abundance of this remarkable plant genus and its treasures within is virtually limitless in the region, offering a plentiful source of raw material.

The industrial and economic business concept developed for the dormant riches of Yucatán is based on a series of revolutionary “green” bio-commodities, environmentally safe products; a unique line of products which is derived in part from the Magnoliophytias, but is also the result of a long and exhaustive process where the local conditions were analyzed, problems and opportunities were recognized, and targets, goals and objectives; identified. There are specifically designed strategies to accomplish those goals and objectives, harmonized activities conceived to implement such strategies, and finally, set foundation to evaluate progress.

Based on these fundamentals I see a solid opportunity to reactivate and invigorate the bio-industry, its abundant by-products, to create a solid economic base, and a wide industrial foundation to serve a number of products, for the common benefit of the region, and the human Capital that inhabit the zone. A multidisciplinary commercial foundation can be established to support the systematic rebuilding of the Magnoliophyta Agavaceae industry, aimed to surpass the economic growth of the past, complemented with safety contrivances to prevent a possible economic and commercial failure.

This vision of growth and development is mirrored in the Treaty of the States of the Gulf of México. This international agreement was signed in 1995 by the governors of eleven combined States of México, and the United States, where Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas are on the U.S. side, and Campeche, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and Yucatán on the Mexican side. The treaty enlists leaders at the state level within a well defined sub-region of North America – the bordering states of the Gulf of México – with the objective of defining mutual interests, forming consensus, and building a political willpower to craft new programs in the areas of domestic protection and security, economic development, education, agriculture, and commerce. With the determination of working together within the agreement, these bordering states have taken significant steps towards the goals of developing the commercial, tourism, and infrastructure progress under NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement).

This hypothesis is guided by a new natural anti-corrosive technology called Averter. This multifarious Averter is a novel hydro-colloidal compound assembled into a bio-base formulation. This industry can bring economic development and the benefits of technology transfer to the area through the implementation of the three elements that are abundant in the region: local bioeconomics, abundant Human Capital, the “knowhow” little secret.

Here it is how it can be done.

First, lets review the available inventory in the region to fulfill the implementation requirements of this hypothesis.
Raw material. - The actual production of raw material in rural southern Mexico to manufacture Averter today is 170,000 tons per year. This will yield 75,000,000 liters of usable material to produce hydrocolloids.

In ten years it will be 670,000 tons per year. This will yield 300,000,000 liters of usable material to produce hydrocolloids.

Human Capital. – There is a tremendous raw human capital available in rural southern Mexico. This human capital is under fire because of the disastrous economy in the area that yields unemployment close to 30%. More than 27% of the population has no income at all, 48% of the population earns less than US$1,000 a year, 20% of the population earns less than US$2,000 a year, 3% of the population earns less than US$5,000 a year, and 0.47% of the population earns more than US$5,000 a year. These statistics are not a joke when the minimum wage in Mexico today is US$2.70 for a full day's work! So, there is an incentive to work!

The production of hydrocolloids require about 1-2% of highly prepared workers, about 7% of technicians, being left at least 91% of the available work for unskilled workers. Minimal learning is required to sustain a job, even if the population is illiterate, which is a positive detail because about 2.2% of the population have completed high school in Yucatán, and only 1.5% has a college level.

Technology for Production. – There is no advanced technology production needed in general to manufacture hydrocolloids; however, here is the new technology can be brought to produce an array of products that are colloidal-based. This technology is easy to apply, cheap to maintain and replace, and relatively simple to operate.

Industrial Resources. – There is a 50-year reforestation and cultivation program in place to reach by the year 2022 a production of raw material of 1.1 million tons per year. This will yield 27,500,000 liters per year of usable material to produce hydrocolloids. The required necessary Human Capital to sustain this growth is available.

Industrial Infrastructure. – Southern Mexico possesses an appropriate basic infrastructure to support economical growth to include international airports, commercial airports, an extensive network of roads and railroads network, diversified transports, commercial ports, “maquiladoras”, “desfibradoras”, an international commerce system in place, strong government, a solid stock of Human Capital, direct access to U.S. markets and, of course, lots of raw material.

Global market. – The global market for the anti corrosive Averter is 50 times bigger than the market in the United States. The 2001 report on corrosion costs in the United States has drawn worldwide interest in nearly every industry. Corrosion costs U.S. industry and government agencies an estimated $276 billion per year, according to the study by CC Technologies for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). This is reason enough for many production and manufacturing companies, transportation organizations, public utilities, infrastructure developers, and government departments to take a closer look at where all this money goes. So, there is an actual market.

The “know-how”. – This is an important element and another difficult and sticky area because of intellectual property implications, and because it is also an important factor in the progression into technology transfer in national and international environments. Also, you have to consider elements such as patents, trade marks, and copyrights when conveying technology to someone else, because all of this independently or combined, are a powerful economic asset. The good news is that this technology, although not implemented yet; exists and it is proven. This technology can champion the development and implementation of this project and the swift manufacturing of cheap, transferable, safe, and fully biodegradable colloidal commodities.

This technology (the Averter) and the development of the project encompasses more than 15 years of R&D, effort, trials, ingenuity, investment, patience, endurance, tryouts, and most important of all, imagination.

I hope this project find a willing and able sponsor and it can be executed for the benefit and wealth of the parties involved, for the region, and for its sponsor, who will be developing human capital and bioeconomics for the common benefit of many.