I never understood Cocoa until moving to Bocas. La Loma introduced this lovely product!! Recently purchased Panamanian Geisha beans for a friend in the States, very expensive and super delicious! I don’t even like coffee! The Duran coffee from Boquete is also extremely good
Cocoa and Coffee take center stage for GDP
- By : James Bryson
- Category : Agriculture, Economy
Among the next actions to strengthen the Panamanian coffee and cocoa items is the creation of a national program.
The implementation of strategies to strengthen the Panamanian coffee and cocoa sectors, as an alternative to improve the social and economic conditions of the country, was analyzed during a meeting between representatives of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), of the Organization of the Nations for Food and Agriculture (FAO) and the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA).
During the meeting, headed by the Minister of Agricultural Development, Augusto Valderrama, the next actions to strengthen the Panamanian coffee and cocoa items were also discussed, such as the creation of a national program, aimed at promoting the development of crops.
The Minister of Mida announced that Carlos Ábrego will be in charge of the National Coffee and Cocoa Program, one of the first steps to improve the production of these two Panamanian products.
In this sense, the head of the agricultural portfolio highlighted the importance of Panamanian coffee and cocoa, which have an impact on exports, on the most needy classes in the country and contribute to the environment.
“Panamanian coffee has a well-established name and our cocoa is one of the best in the world, so we will work as a team to develop a strategic plan to improve the production, processing and preparation of these products,” said Valderrama.
For his part, Gerardo Escudero, from IICA, explained that the National Cocoa and Coffee Program has a broad social impact and rapid response; so he predicted that he will have successes early.
For her part, Erika Pinto, from FAO, commented that they have been working with Mida in terms of technical assistance and that this experience can be made available to this program, with the support of the other agencies that will participate.