Developing strategic crops to ensure food security and bringing together agricultural agents to focus on foreign market niches is part of the challenge for the coming years.
One of the great challenges faced by businessmen in Panama is to take advantage of the country's logistical opportunities to position the Panamanian economy as an agro-exporter and also as a re-exporter of food.
Gerardo Escudero, representative of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), told Martesfinanciero.com that the "... Panama's logistical position allows the country to profitably take food seriously and become a great agro-exporting country for the world.”
Escudero added that "... it is true that the country must bet on niches of special products to export. But it is also possible to import inputs, add value in Panama and export food massively through the Panamanian agrifood hub."
With regard to the actions already implemented, it should be noted that Panama has projects aimed at developing the sector, such as the Western Region Agro Master Plan and the Azuero Region Agro Master Plan, which will be implemented in seven and ten years, respectively.
For the present harvest, the sector's union forecasts an increase of between 8 and 9% in sales abroad, which would generate $400 million in revenues.
According to figures from the Industrial Association of Oil Producers of Honduras (Aipah), in the previous cycle the country exported 469 thousand tons, which generated $364 million and the main destination market was Europe, which acquired 85% of the total.In this harvest it is expected that about 515 thousand tons will be to exported.
Of the 2 million hectares of land estimated to be available for agricultural crops, only 40,000 are dedicated to fruit production.
Because of its climate and quality of soil, Panama has great potential for growing tropical fruits, such as mango, papaya, pineapple, avocado, coconut and citrus.However, the country's agricultural capacity is not being fully exploited.A report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said that in order to take better advantage of these conditions, "...integration of fruit chains needs to be improved in order to take advantage of the agro - ecological, logistical advantages and the geographical position Panama has."
The Outlook for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Americas: A perspective on Latin America and the Caribbean 2011-2012.
ECLAC, FAO and IICA press release:
San Jose, Costa Rica, October 21 (ECLAC/FAO/IICA). Despite the current context of volatility and high food prices, in the long term, the agricultural sector in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) will be able to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by having available land - albeit concentrated in a few countries- a relative abundance of water, biodiversity and well-educated human resources.
The development of the sector is affected by the absence of a new generation of agricultural professionals, the lack of planning for planting cycles plus a lack of seeds.
For Gabriel Rodriguez Marques, representative in Panama of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), these factors are what is keeping the agricultural sector stagnant and bode for an uncertain future.
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