agriculture

First organic fertilizer

Although there are hundreds of fertilizers in Panama which claim to be organic, none has so far received an international certification that would allow the company producing it to label it as such. That is, not until Productora de Abono Orgánico S.A., which is based in Arraiján, finally came up with its own certified organic fertilizer, the first to be produced by a Panamanian company.

Bolivian certification company Biolatina gave the green light to Productora de Abono Orgánico S.A. this week, giving a boost of innovation in the Panamanian agricultural sector.

Sources from the Arraiján producer said the fertilizer is made out of waste from a pig farm it owns and that it produces approximately 1,000 sacks every month.

Luciano Ramírez of the Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (Anam) said that the development of organic fertilizers allows the replacement of toxic products. An Anam study maintains that the value of organic production will reach $100,000 by 2010.