An announcement has been made of a visit by a trade delegation of Spanish companies specializing in agricultural machinery, on April 18 and 19.
The Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Guatemala informed Prensalibre.com that a trade mission of Spanish business people will be visiting the country on April 18 and 19. It will be formed of 15 entrepreneurs from eight Spanish firms belonging to the Spanish Association of Agricultural Machinery.
With the construction of a new irrigation canal the aim is to increase agricultural productivity in a naturally dry area.
A new irrigation canal in the north, 34 kilometers long, will artificially irrigate some 8,600 hectares in the cantons of Cañas and Abangares allowing in order to promotoe the revival of production in this area and diversification. $15 million will be invested in the project and work is expected to start next March.
The Ministry of Agriculture aims to improve the productive capacity of the country through a policy of irrigation water management.
The initiative includes four components, among which is the creation of dams or reservoirs which store water during the rainy season for use in irrigation during the dry season.
"It's a big but strategic investment which the country needs to take in order to avoid a lot of problems due to climate change," says the Rural Economic Development Deputy Minister, Carlos Anzueto.
Panama's government has unveiled projects for supporting farming in order to encourage greater productivity, with a total cost of $211 million.
A statement from the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA) reads:
Over $170 million will be spent on irrigation systems in productive areas of the country, about 33.5 million in producer support programs (Act 24, Act 25, Rural Pro and others), $6 million in direct assistance to small producers and over $2 million on Production Roads, which makes a total of $211.5, part of the investments being carried out by the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA), in order to achieve the required productivity to achieve efficiency domestic production.
Costa Rica is preparing an international tender for a 34 kilometer extension of the "Canal del Sur", in Guanacaste, and 52 kilometers of secondary canals.
In approximately two months the administrative processes will be to completed allowing the National Groundwater Irrigation and Drainage Services (Senara in Spanish) to publish the tender for the redevelopment of the canal south of Arenal Tempisque Irrigation District (DRAT) which currently irrigates 27,000 hectares. The execution of the works to be tendered will add a further 8000 hectares of irrigation.
Authorities in Guatemala are offering $25.57 million in subsidies and loans to provide access to high technology irrigation systems.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (Maga) has created a fund called the Integral Development Program for Areas with Potential for Irrigation and Drainage (Plamar in Spanish), which aims to ensure access to irrigation systems with modern technology.
The Ministry of Agriculture has allocated $5 million for the renovation of irrigation infrastructure for 2012.
The Minister of the department, Guillermo Lopez, announcement the investment, the largest in the $107 million project portfolio planned for the year by the entity.
On 22 December the Ministry, along with the National Administration of Aqueducts and Sewers, inaugurated renovation works in District 3 Lempa - Acahuapa , one of the largest irrigated areas in the country, benefiting 115 families who tend their crops over 500 acres.
Within the Ministry of Agriculture’s investment plans for 2012 is the construction of an irrigation system in the Tonosí Valley.
$32 million have been earmarked for this project in the province of Los Santos and the preparations at the sterile fly production plant in Pacora, while the 2012 budget has increased by 35% compared to 2011.
According to an article in Prensa.com, "However, despite the increased funding, producers are skeptical about its use, because most of the projects planned in the past have ended up only existing on paper.
The German Investment and Development Company (DEG) will provide $4 million in capital and grant $8 million of credit to Melones de Nicaragua S.A.
The long-term credit will allow the company to expand its operations.
According to an article in Laprensa.com.ni: "The funds will be invested in expanding rice cultivation areas, in the clearance and construction of irrigation wells in Jicaral, Leon; in the construction of a cogeneration electric power plant based on rice husks with a capacity of producing one megawatt and a program for small producers to process their crops with a thresher in which the company has already invested a million dollars. "
The program will start in the towns of Jalapa, Condega and Estelí.
Called "Frijol de Riego", the program foresees planting beans using controlled irrigation techniques.
The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry (MAGFOR), Ariel Bucardo, said they already have an area of about 3.500 blocks. The start of the program is scheduled to begin in two weeks.
"This is the government alternative to produce 100 thousand quintals of beans and cover part of the losses suffered in the Apante harvest (the third and last crop of the year), estimated at about 600 thousand quintals," informed Laprensa.com.ni.
The government will build two irrigation systems in the Chiriqui province in order to boost the agricultural sector.
The highlands of the Chiriqui province produce 80% of the country´s vegetables. These irrigation systems aim at sustained production and higher quality.
The Minister of Agriculture, Emilio Kieswetter, also referred to other projects which promote development in the area, like "...
Panama's Ministry for Farming Development (Mida) plans to contruct two irrigation projects next year.
One of the projects will be located in Veraguas while the other is in Santa María, both in the centre-west of the country.
"These works add to irrigation projects already underway in the country such as “Remigio Rojas” in Chiriquí and El Caño in Coclé, for which $65.3 and $1.5 million have been invested respectively," reports Pa-digital.com.pa.
Government authorities are considering investing $1 million in an irrigation project called “Remigio Rojas”, in Alanje, province of Chiriquí.
This initiative has received $65 million so far, but has not yielded the expected results, as growers lack the required infrastructure to benefit from it.
The additional $1 million would help expand the project, increasing rice production in the dry season by 80%.
The funds will be used in to build a hydroelectric power plant, called “José Cecilio del Valle”, and to develop irrigation projects in the area.
Mauro Marazoma, Italian spokesperson in Honduras, remarked that they are now organizing the project, to communicate it to local communities and government entities.
“Victor Flores, mayor of the region of Nacaome, explained that Italy is proposing the creation of a Basins Committee as a required condition to invest the 26 million Euros”, reported La Tribuna.
In the next five years, the Government will invest in irrigation projects in the provinces of Los Santos, Herrera and Coclé.
The current administration, lead by president Ricardo Martinelli, has set forth the objective of reaching yearly growth between 6% and 8% in agriculture.
"A source from the Ministry for Agricultural Development (MIDA), explained that such projections are estimates, as no feasibility study has been conducted yet.