Following the detection of an outbreak of giant African snail in Costa Rica, in the community of Curubande in the canton of Liberia in Guanacaste, local authorities declared a National Phytosanitary Emergency.
The objective of this declaration is to prevent the spread of the plague, putting at risk the national agriculture, public health and the environment, informed the State Phytosanitary Service (SFE).
Last year, Central America assigned $784 million to fertilizer imports, 4% more than in 2019, with Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador being the markets that accounted for the increase in regional purchases.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="fertilizer"].
Through information solutions based on the use of satellite photos, the application of classification models and the implementation of machine learning algorithms, it is possible to optimize the management of large plantations and minimize the risks faced by crops that affect profitability per hectare planted.
The growing availability of data that exists today is leading companies to seek new ways and tools to take advantage of this huge wave of information that is being generated in different business sectors.
Arguing that through molecular biology tests the presence of the Avocado Sunblotch viroid was detected in shipments from Honduras, Costa Rican authorities decided to impose requirements on the entry of the fruit produced in Honduran territory.
Fernando Araya, Director of the State Phytosanitary Service (SFE), confirmed on May 25, 2021 that "... from this moment on, when samples are taken for analysis by the Molecular Biology Laboratory of avocado shipments from Honduras, these will be retained and will be released once a negative result for Avocado Sunblotch viroid (ASBVd) is obtained. The above in compliance with the responsibility to prevent the introduction and spread of pests that threaten food security and economic activity based on agricultural production."
In recent years, regional avocado exports have gained importance, as in 2018 they amounted to $2.8 million, in 2019 they climbed to $10.9 million and in 2020 they rose to $11.9 million.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graph"]
Betting on the latest technology projects, agriculture 4.0 and seeking alternative products derived from sugarcane so as not to depend on international prices, are some of the lines of action on which the Guatemalan sugar sector will focus in the coming years.
Although sugar prices in the international market have improved between October 2020 and April 2021, in previous years there was a downward trend that pressured mills to explore new market opportunities for sugarcane-derived products.
Some of the technological tools that will be used in the coming years to increase agricultural productivity include the use of devices connected to the Internet that can create self-regulating microclimates in greenhouses and crop monitoring through aerial images.
Business Intelligence solutions used by agricultural companies have the ability to transform maps and images into structured data that can be used for decision making.
From January to September 2020 exports from Central America of palm oil and its fractions totaled $648 million, an amount that exceeds by 12% what was reported in the same period of 2019.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graphic"]
From January to September 2020, companies in the region bought corn abroad for $753 million, 10% more than what was reported in the same period of 2019, a variation that is explained by the rise in imports from Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graph"]
From January to September 2020, Central American vegetable exports totaled $229 million, 44% more than what was reported in the same period of 2019, an increase that is largely explained by the behavior of sales to U.S. companies.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graphic"]
An agricultural production complex was inaugurated in Costa Rica, which has six modules for protected environments and will be used to validate vegetable crop production techniques.
The project, promoted by the National Institute for Innovation and Transfer of Agricultural Technology (INTA) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, aims to validate horticultural crop production techniques in protected environments for the agro-environmental conditions of the Huetar Caribbean Region, Costa Rican authorities reported.
The lack of incentives, the disorder to apply the legislation and the complexity of producing in areas that are surrounded by traditional crops, are some of the factors that hinder the development of organic agriculture in Costa Rica.
In the last decade, the area planted to organic agriculture has fallen. Data from the program of Accreditation and Registration in Agriculture (ARAO) specify that in 2010 the area amounted to 11,115 hectares and in 2019 fell to 8,832 hectares, equivalent to a decrease of 21%.
In order to overcome the trade conflict resulting from the blocking of the entry of animal products from Costa Rica into the Panamanian market, both nations have started a dialogue.
The trade conflict between the two countries began in July 2020, when Panama informed the National Animal Health Service (SENASA), an agency of the Costa Rican Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), of the decision not to extend export authorization to a list of previously authorized Costa Rican establishments that have been trading in the Panamanian market for many years.
Because the grain has not matured with the normal speed, at the end of the second half of December of the 2020-2021 agricultural season, the volume harvested in the country had fallen 23% compared to what was reported at the same date of the 2019-2020 cycle.
According to businessmen of the sector, the delay in the maturation of coffee is mainly because during 2020 in almost all the country the rains arrived late, a phenomenon that interrupted the normal cycle of the grain.
After reports of flying locusts entering Guatemala from the border area with the Yucatan, Mexico, Salvadoran authorities have declared themselves on alert because of the threat they could represent to local crops.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) is prepared to face the threat of a flying locust (Schistocerca piceifrons piceifrons) that could cause damage or loss to crops in our territory, details an official statement dated January 12, 2021.
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