Judith Pena | January 13, 2023
For his career and contributions to the country’s agricultural sector, milk producer Juan de Dios Sáenz Sucre was the winner of the Award of Merit to National Producer Engineer Arturo Donaldo Melo Sarasqueta, a distinction that was awarded by the Minister of Agricultural Development, Augusto Valderrama .
This annual distinction was created by Law 229 of June 23, 2021, in recognition of producers for their performance, trajectory, promotion, impulse, protection and national and international participation that has contributed to the national agricultural sector.
Juan de Dios, in the company of his brothers Arquimedes and Arcelio, promote the Agropecuaria Don Arcelio and Eco Parque Don Arcelio projects, which stand out for the pioneering industrialization of A2/A2 pasteurized whole milk, easy to digest and for being a teaching center for knowledge transfer, in an agro-tourism farm located in Natá de Los Caballeros, in the province of Coclé, which has won awards for its contribution to recycling and sustainable development.
“I feel very honored by this medal, it is an encouragement to continue in our projects, for this reason I urge the other producers to continue working hand in hand with MIDA and the National Government to produce and ensure the food that the Panamanian population needs” said Juan de Dios Sáenz Sucre, who briefly recounted the beginnings of Agropecuaria Don Arcelio, a project that produces pure milk, with which cheese is made; In addition, honey is processed and organic fertilizer is made for sale.
Minister Valderrama congratulated Juan de Dios for his work that he has been doing in the production of milk and the transfer of technological knowledge to the new generations to be able to produce more, which ensures food for Panamanians. He added that much remains to be done in the agricultural sector, but examples like Don Arcelio show that we are on the right track.
Miguel Galdames, representing the Melo family, recalled the legacy left by Arturo Donaldo Melo Sarasqueta in the agricultural sector and in building a better country. In addition, he had words of praise for the medal winner for his good work and family effort, for the benefit of the sector.
The winner of the award was born in the province of Panama on May 26, 1969 and from a very young age settled in Natá de Los Caballeros, where he inherited his passion for agriculture, motivated by his Sáenz Sandoval family, who began farming activities in 1920. .
The decoration is an 18-carat gold medal with a diameter of six centimeters, which contains the figure of Engineer Arturo Donaldo Melo Sarasqueta on the obverse and the National Shield on the reverse. This medal and a copy of the Executive Resolution granting the award, which bears the signature of President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, were delivered to the producer. The 2021 winner was the engineer Rolando Sánchez Diez, dedicated to the cultivation of Bamboo and developed a Strategic Planning Project at the level of rural and technical poverty, among other topics.
