The American Chamber of Commerce has criticized the award of business to a small group of companies selected by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Companies who were not invited to participate in the committee for the procurement of maize seed implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) doubt the legal framework of the panel as it differs from the normal purchasing process using format of a tender.
The union estimates that 30,000 hectares need to be renewed each year, at a cost of $5,000 for each hectare planted with new trees.
Producers want to improve crop productivity and for this they need funding to rejuvenate coffee farms and fertilize the soil.
In the view of Sergio Ticas, President of the Coffee Association "if the work is done on 30,000 fields each year, production will be two million quintals in a period of four years.
Salvadoran authorities intend to promote the use of bio-fertilizers for the agricultural cycle 2013-2014, which are up to 90% cheaper than traditional chemicals.
According to the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Hugo Flores, at the request of organizations for producers of basic grains, the office of the Ministry of Agriculture (MAG) is studying the use of biofertilizers for delivery this year, when the delivery of corm packages will start.
With an investment of $24 million the country has plans for reforestation and replanting at least 40 thousand acres of land in 2014.
From a press release from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock in El Salvador:
As part of developing the presidential program "Rescue and Development of National Coffee Culture", the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Hugo Flores Hidalgo, accompanied by a representative from the American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in El Salvador, Gerardo Escudero, and Executive Director of the Salvadoran Coffee Council, Ana Elena Escalante, participated in the delivery of coffee seedlings to farmers in the area of San Pedro Nonualco, Department of La Paz.
A decree authorized the duty-free import of basic grains, maize and beans, to ensure supply for the population.
By means of Decree 907, the MAG has been empowered to buy and sell seed and grain, bean and maize and materials for their production, in order to guarantee the price of the product and transfer it at a reasonable cost to the public.
A press release from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock in El Salvador states:
The Ministry of Agriculture will provide $11 million to compensate for losses caused by the excessive rains.
Hugo Flores, deputy minister, explained that the money will go towards replanting, renovating at-risk areas, and supporting the aquaculture sector, among other schemes.
The measure seeks to prevent a shortage of basic grains in 2012, and will be complemented by the duty-free import of 50,000 tons of white maize and 25,000 of red beans.
The Salvadoran authorities have banned the extraction, sale and consumption of seafood after declaring a red tide alert.
The ban, which is for a period of one month, applies to pearl oysters, Japanese oysters, mussels, snails and abalone.
The measure, adopted as a precaution by the Ministries of Agriculture, Public Health and Environment and Natural Resources, through the National Red Tide Commission (CONAMA), indicates that the ban on oysters (pearl or native, Japanese or Pacific), mussels, clams, snails and abalone, is due to the fact that the diet of these species, filter feeders, means they can accumulating toxic substances harmful to the health of the population.
Without defining the country which will be purchased from, the Ministry of Agriculture announced the transaction in order to alleviate the shortage of grain.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Hugo Flores, stated that Mexico, United States and even Nicaragua, as potential seller countries.
Elsalvador.com in an article reports, "On Monday, Daniel Rivera, representative of Eastern producers, did not hide his concern since according to the information, their counterparts in Honduras and Nicaragua have said that there are no beans in any of these countries, so the Government should speed up the process."
To avoid bean shortages, the country will import around 200,000 sacks from Mexico and Colombia.
Hugo Flores, vice-minister for Agriculture, commented that the purchase of the beans is being carried out as a preventative measure to ensure stocks are sufficient to cope with the possibility of crop failures due to torrential rains.
Flores explained that this time produce will not be exported from Nicaragua since the country's government has said that it will not export also in case of crop failures," reports Elsalvador.com.
The country's Farming Ministry (MAG) is considering whether to purchase grains outside Central America in order to avoid food scarcity.
The heavy rains have led to corn losses and put the bean harvest at risk. There is also the added risk of reduced harvests in Nicaragua, El Salvador's main bean supplier.
This has forced the MAG to consider changing its food sourcing strategy in order to to guarantee food security, including the delivery of seeds to low risk zones, reports Elsalvador.com.
The Agriculture ministry plans to increase the country’s sown area by 4.5% during 2010.
One of the initiatives comprises reopening a gasoline and ethanol facility in Izalco, which has been closed for 10 years, announced Hugo Flores, Agriculture Ministry. This is planned for May 30th.
Additionally, the Center for Agriculture and Forestry Technology will support farmers with technology and commercialization assistance, he said.
The meetings have the objective of creating a scheme for the National Agriculture Plan 2025 and the founding of the National Agriculture Council.
Current and former authorities from the Ministry of Cattle and Agriculture (MAG, acronym in Spanish) are participating.
Elsalvador.com interviews vice-minister of Agriculture, Hugo Flores, “... some of the topics that will dominate the National Agriculture Council will be access to credit for small farmers, legal security of the land -covered in the Law of Renting Land- and the insecurity in the case of dairy producers.