Strawberry producers in areas such as Dota, Llano Grande de Cartago, Vara Blanca de Heredia, and Poas de Alajuela formed a committee with the aim of attracting research, development, and innovation to this fruit's value chain to strengthen the national strawberry sector.
The initiative originated at a meeting promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) and the Foundation for the Development and Promotion of Research and Agricultural Technology Transfer (FITTACORI), with the methodological support of the Representatives of the Inter-American Institute of cooperation for agriculture (IICA) in Costa Rica.
"We'll be having greater coordination among producers, if we get organized we'll be able to have technology, research, funding, which is very important, and training for the sector; additionally we'll have support to generate partnerships in the national and international markets," said Juan Carlos Cruz, a producer from Cartago.
The idea of the MAG is that national Strawberry growers get organized and are able to present innovative projects that benefit the sector.
"The first thing that was required was for producers to determine their main needs and to prioritize them, demonstrating their organization and working abilities so that they can seek alliances with the academy to formulate technological innovation projects. It is important that producers continue meeting with other institutional actors to design a strategy that eventually allows them to establish a research and strawberry agricultural technology transfer program," said the official of the MAG, Omar Somarribas.
According to the national agricultural census in 2014, Costa Rica has a total of 335 farms with an estimated area of 232 hectares devoted to the production of strawberries mainly concentrated in the provinces of San Jose, Cartago, Alajuela, and Heredia.
Source: diarioextra.com