agriculture

Unseasonal rains delay harvest

Farmers protect their crops while waiting to harvest more onions, potatoes and porotos.

LA PRENSA

protection: Growers of porotos work to save their crops from the heavy rains falling in Chiriquí province. 962338

December has been a month of heavy rains in the province of Chiriquí, which has delayed the harvest of crops such as onion, potatoes and the popular beans known in Panama as porotos.

Yet since Christmas, the weather has been more benevolent toward growers. The rain has ceased in the highlands, allowing for the harvest of at least some crops.

Quintín Araúz, a grower of porotos and coffee in Renacimiento, says that it has been many years since he has seen so much rain during the month of December, but it has finally stopped, and now he has begun to harvest his beans.

In Cerro Punta, the weather has behaved the same as in Renacimiento, said Henry Ledezma, regional director of the Ministerio de Desarrollo Agropecuario (Mida) and a grower of horticultural products.

"We get two days of sun and all the growers rush to harvest onions, potatoes and other similar crops," Ledezma explained. He also pointed out that rainfall at a time when the dry season should be starting is beneficial for growers who use irrigation systems for their products.

That is true for the plantain and banana growers in the lowlands of Chiriquí, who will have to spend less money on fuel to irrigate their plantations thanks to the rain.

"Beef and dairy farmers also benefit from the rain, since the pastures stay greener longer for their herds," he explained.

Ledezma put aside claims that the rains might affect summer crops such as watermelon and cantaloupe, since their harvest time occurs in February and March.

With respect to the poroto harvest, experts from Mida have instructed growers to cover their crops with plastic to protect them from excessive dampness.