Some 60,000 quintals of onion, for the sum of more than $2.5 million, will be purchased by the National Government from the producers of the Highlands in Chiriquí, Coclé and Azuero as part of the agreements reached with them, reported the Ministry of Agricultural Development (Mida ).
He explained that in the transaction, each quintal of onion will be purchased at a price of $42; and that the acquisition will be made through the Institute of Agricultural Marketing (IMA) to be distributed through the Plan Panama Solidario program.
The purchase was approved on the instructions of the Minister of Agricultural Development, Augusto Valderrama, as a measure to prevent onion producers from having losses due to overproduction of this item, in the current 2022 harvest period; as well as benefiting the households that are served with the program.
“This support for producers reaffirms the government’s commitment to the sector and to guaranteeing the country’s food security,” said Valderrama, who, accompanied by the vice minister, Carlo Rognoni, and his work teams, held several meetings with onion producers to determine the most feasible solutions for the sector.
According to Mida figures, in recent years the production of onions in Panama has improved by 89%, which represents 225,474 quintals and a growth rate of 17.7%, despite the pandemic and the weather conditions that hit many producing regions. of this bulb in the country.
