With a loan from the Andean Development Corporation, part of the master plan for agriculture in the Western region will be financed, which consists of the improvement of productive infrastructure, acquisition of equipment and supplies and management of water resources.
The program comprises seven components in its first stage: research, extension and technical assistance; associativity and entrepreneurship; agricultural health and food safety; metrology and laboratories; water management and water harvesting; productive infrastructure, equipment and supplies; institutional development for the execution of PMARO.
Grupo Duwest has announced the acquisition of Cafesa, a company that traded agricultural products and machinery, which until now belonged to Yara International.
Both Duwest and Cafesa are engaged in the marketing of agricultural products and machinery in Central America.Raimundo Rojas, CEO of Duwest, confirmed to Nacion.com that"...
The National Assembly has adopted a new regulatory framework for the activity of special transportation of fuel for farm machinery or equipment.
From a statement issued by the National Assembly of Panama:
The full National Assembly approved on Tuesday on its third reading Bill No. 403, which regulates the special transport of fuel for agriculture and dictates other provisions.
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.
Businessmen and importers of agricultural machinery argue that the payment of sales tax increases costs and reduces competitiveness of their production.
Imports of capital goods in the agriculture sector dropped from $57 to $54 million between 2014 and 2015, according to central bank data published by Laprensa.hn. The union of importers and the agricultural producers themselves say the cost has risen since the Law on Organising Public Finance, Control of Exemptions and Anti-Evasion Measures came into effect, a law which eliminated tax exemptions which had been granted to the agricultural sector for years.
In Nicaragua for every cultivated hectare, 39 kilos of fertilizer are used, in Panama the figure is 50 kilos, in Honduras, 58, in Guatemala, 97, in El Salvador, 135, and in Costa Rica, 264 kilos.
The study "State of the Global Food and Agriculture", by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), details not only the use of fertilizer per hectare in Central America, but also the proportion of the value added in agriculture in each country.
Producers are complaining about a lack of agility and excessive paperwork in the process to request tax exemptions for the purchase of equipment and farm machinery.
Agricultural producers argue that they can not easily access the exemptions for the purchase of equipment which is established in the recently passed Tax Act. Although it has been stated that within three months the necessary reforms will be made for the exemptions to given on products and not producers, the current requirements are delaying procedures and access to the incentive on the part of the producers.
The government has announced the purchase of livestock feed and other agricultural materials, construction of wells and reservoirs, and the purchase and rental of machinery.
From a statement issued by the Presidency of the Republic of Costa Rica:
The government of the Republic will invest $29 million from the National Emergency Fund and from regular resources from various public institutions, in order to address the damages generated by the drought in some cantons in the Central Pacific and throughout the province of Guanacaste.
The agricultural sector is demanding a law that grants tax benefits and allows the use of leasing of machinery and equipment to improve competitiveness.
Instead of buying equipment and financing it with a bank, the agriculture sector is calling for a law to be approved to regulate and encourage the use of leasing, as a way to improve productivity by renting equipment and not borrowing to acquire it.
METAGRO is a Guatemalan based manufacturer that provides high end solutions of agricultural transport equipment, we are focused on helping customers be more productive as they help to improve the quality of life for people around the world.
Organization that operates in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama
Phone: (502) 2383 2720 - (502) 5595 9953
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 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.
Lack of modernization processes and machinery accounts for the low competitiveness of agricultural production.
In order to increase production and eliminate the need to import grains when there is a shortfall in production and the needs of the local market cannot be met, industry representatives are suggesting the use of machinery that could triple crop yields.