agriculture

Industry struggling

The first forum on the future of agriculture in Panama will be held next Sunday, Feb. 24. The announcement was made yesterday by Hermann Gnaeg, president of the Comisión de Asuntos Agropecuarios de la Asociación Panameña de Ejecutivos de Empresa (Apede). Entitled "El futuro del Sector Agropecuario," the forum will take place at the Instituto Nacional de Agricultura (INA) in Divisa, Veraguas.

"The problems [in agriculture today] are ones of efficiency," Gnaeg asserted. "We have to be more efficient in production. But for that we need technology." Yet Gnaegi also declared that the problem is the high cost of fuel.

The minister of Desarrollo Agropecuario (MIDA), Guillermo Salazar, said that the government is trying to prevent further increases in the price of basic foods, but factors beyond its control have driven up consumer prices. The government has been subsidizing various products, including rice, sugar, coffee, and cannedsardines from Peru. More products will soon be added to this list. Some merchants view this as unfair competition.