Some 75 producers from Colón and Panamá Oeste received support to face climate variability during a visit to an agrotourism farm that included the work tour, carried out by the Minister of Agricultural Development (MIDA), Augusto Valderrama and his work team in Panamá Oeste , to support farmers and ranchers in this province and in Colón.
This tour was part of an initiative that the National Government undertook and that MIDA has been developing weekly, to help producers from all over the country who are being affected by climate change, within the actions of the Emergency Committee that develops the Plan ” Against drought, for life and food.
The activity began on the Vicente Ramos farm, located in Monte Oscuro de Capira, where Minister Valderrama and his work team held a discussion with the producers, in which they were instructed on the importance of being prepared for possible shortages. of water due to the lack of rain and the entry of the El Niño Phenomenon.
The work of the National Directorate of Rural Engineering and Irrigation of MIDA for the construction and qualification of deep wells was also highlighted, as one of the actions to prepare for the dry season.
From 2019 to May 2023, more than 2,000 wells have been enabled to guarantee the water that producers need for their plantations and livestock.
Valderrama highlighted the support that the National Government, led by Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, has promoted for the agricultural sector in recent years, eliminating excessive imports and shielding it with the PADE law. In addition, he praised the benefits of Panama Oeste and Capira as a producer of different items such as pineapple, agrotourism, livestock and agriculture.
The head of MIDA told small producers that we must learn to manage water sustainably, so MIDA is attacking this problem in two directions, one is with the delivery of input aid, and another with the design of a action plan for the construction of troughs and wells for water harvesting for this year and 2024.
He recalled that “a prepared producer does not dry up his crops or die his cattle.” The Vicente Ramos farm also served as the headquarters for the delivery of inputs to producers in the West and Colón.
This delivery consisted of mineralized salt, bales, molasses and improved grass seed. Ramos thanked the support given to the producers of this region and because for the first time ministerial authorities visited this farm to listen to the needs of Monte Oscuro. In this community, they took the opportunity to visit new production routes, which will help strengthen the productivity of this region. The tour continued in Ciricito Abajo, in Nueva Arenosa, in Capira, with a visit to the Manantial de Vida agrotourism farm owned by Alexis and Yodalis Batista, coffee and pineapple producers.
At this farm, Valderrama spoke of encouraging the sector and creating a route and a tourist cabinet in West Panama, as added values for production, nature and sustainability.
Finally, Valderrama, the sector and government authorities shared with the members of the Unión Campesina Capireña, made up of 40 coffee producers. At this meeting, they discussed sanitary records and a processing plant to boost the production of this precious grain.
