agriculture

Farmers close highway

Authorities promised the growers a meeting with President Torrijos.

flor bocharel/la prensa

grain crisis: Chiriquí rice farmers closed the Pan-American highway yesterday, calling for the government to act on the rice crisis.1111746

Armed with tractors and heavy agricultural machinery, rice growers in the province of Chiriquí blocked the Pan-American highway yesterday near Risacua, in a measure aimed at pressuring the government to purchase domestic grains rather than import them.

Rice farmers in the region expressed desperation over the more than half a million quintals of grain that has yet to be harvested, while last season’s yields are still holding up rice mills and silos across the country.

The protest last about two hours, while riot police stood nearby with tear gas canisters at the ready. Crowd control tactics weren’t necessary, however, since the stretch of highway was reopened a little after 1 p.m.

Government officials promised the growers a meeting with President Martín Torrijos today, but tractors remain parked along the shoulder of the highway in case there aren’t “concrete answers.”

Regional director of the Ministry of Agricultural Development (Mida) Henry Ledezma presented the government a list of demands on behalf of the Association Rice Producers of Chiriquí, whose priority is to obtain fair prices for the domestic rice crop.

They are also calling for an immediate halt on rice imports, which the government have packaged for the subsidized brand Compita.