In Honduras, the design, construction and supervision of several irrigation systems in different areas of the country are being tendered.
Honduras Government Purchase SAG-UAP-PDABR-BCIE-2101-LPI-1-01-2019:
"The project is aimed at benefiting the poorest farmers in the main horticultural areas of Olancho, Francisco Morazán, La Paz, and the west of the country.
In Panama the works for the construction of the inter and intradomestic sanitary lines, and of an irrigation system, in the province of Chiriqui are tendered.
Panama Government Purchase 2019-2-66-0-04-LV-014897:
"Study, design and construction of inter- and intradomestic sanitary lines; (ii) operation and maintenance of the treatment plant and pumping stations; (iii) demolition, design and construction of the administrative building, in the city of Puerto Armuelles, province of Chiriquí.
In the Dominican Republic, a tender is being launched for cleaning and renovation of channels and berms, and the construction of irrigation wall system in Alto Yaque del Norte.
Dominican Republic Government Purchase INDRHI-CCC-LPN-2018-0002:
"In general, the Contractor must limit its constructive activities to said area, as well as others expressly indicated by the contracting institution.Any work on rock, using explosives, machinery or manual methods, will require the authorization and recognition of the Institute in charge of the project, in order to carry out the activity.
The CABEI has approved a $425 million loan to finance a water supply project in three cantons in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) reported that the funds will be used to finance construction of hydraulic, civil and mechanical structures to achieve the multiple purpose of providing water for irrigation, water for human consumption and future generation of energy.
Two irrigation system construction projects are being prepared in different municipalities in the departments of Yoro, La Paz, Intibucá, Lempira, Atlántida, Cortés and Santa Bárbara.
The projects that will be executed are the Programa de Desarrollo Agrícola Bajo Riego (PDABR), and the Project of Competitiveness and Sustainable Development of the South Western Border Corridor (PRO-LENCA), whose investments will be $25.3 million and $27.8 million respectively..
In Panama a proposal has been made to reimburse 75% of the investment in purchase of certified fruit tree seedlings, and 50% in investments in the installation of irrigation and drainage systems in farms.
The National Commission of Agricultural Transformation, integrated by representatives of diverse institutions related to the agricultural sector, approved including in the regulations Law 25, incentives for the production of ten fruits, mainly citrus fruits.
Lack of irrigation on most of the country's arable land is preventing farmers from accessing bank financing to increase the productivity of their crops.
Regarding the financing that is currently granted, Luis Rivas Anduray, CEO and director of Banpro Grupo Promerica, explained to Elnuevodiario.com.ni that "...Banks finance only 10% of the country's arable areas. This 10% are the products that generate the most foreign currency for Nicaragua, such as coffee, sugarcane, etc., but there is another 90% of the area that can be financed, in which banks do not get involved, due to the credit risk that this constitutes. Therefore, when you have irrigation, the risk is substantially reduced."
After having invested $15 million in the construction of the main conduit, the agricultural irrigation project that was supposed to bring water to farms in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, has not been completed due to lack of funds.
In July 2017 the agricultural irrigation project called "second stage of the southern channel" was inaugurated, which consisted in the construction of a main water pipeline measuring 32 kilometers in length.The works that are located in the province of Guanacaste, required an investment of $15 million which was financed with a loan from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE).
In the next three months the government plans to issue tenders for the rehabilitation and construction of thirteen irrigation systems.
These thirteen tenders, which the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food plans to publish within 45 days and three months, are part of the National Agricultural Plan, which aims to restore irrigation systems nationwide.
The government has announced that in the first quarter of 2017 it will start construction of an irrigation system in the district of Renacimiento, province of Chiriqui.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Agricultural Development:
At an estimated cost of 6 million dollars, the government of the Republic of Panama, through the Ministry of Agricultural Development -MIDA-, will build an irrigation system in Montelirio, district of Renacimiento, which will greatly increase and diversify production in the area.
Through an agreement with the Indian company Apollo International Limited an irrigation project will be developed in the Jamastrán Valley, department of El Paraíso.
A statement from the government of Hondurasexplains that the agreement provides for the construction of 6 drip irrigation modulesusing surface water of the rivers Hato, San Antonio and San Francisco, on which a further 300 dripirrigation systems will be built in small five hectare modules.
With judicial annulment of the termination by the Ministry of Agriculture, the controversial $155 million contract awarded to Ecuador's Hidalgo & Hidalgo in 2012 has come back to legal life.
The resolution ofcancellation of the contracthad already beensuspended in December 2015, after the contractor filed an appeal against it. Now, the ruling from the Administrative Court of Public Contracting (CPR) of April 22 2016 can 'annul all parts' of the resolution.
The implementation of adequate irrigation infrastructure would provide the conditions needed to produce year-round, raising the productivity of Nicaraguan agriculture.
Lack of infrastructure is preventing taking advantage of the potential of rainwater in the agricultural sector, which relying solely on rain, is able to grow only once year, in the winter period.Data provided by Santiago Jaramillo, agronomist at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) indicates that the yield (kg / ha) of crops such as corn and beans could rise from 2125 to 9100in the first case and 675-1500 in the second case.
As part of the Agricultural Plan to be implemented within 5 years, the government has announced that starting 2017 it plans to invest $380 million in recovery of 29 irrigation systems in nine municipalities.
The objective of the plan announced by Morales administration is to improve the irrigation of 3300 hectares of arable land in the nine municipalities in the Dry Corridor.