For Nicaraguan producers the year-end harvest is secure, and there will be practically 'smooth sailing' from here on, thanks to the good winter recorded in 2016, as well as the excellent technical support extended by the Buen Gobierno program through the Instituto Nicaragüense de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA).
On Monday, El 19 Digital's news team conducted an extensive tour of the farms and crop fields, where producers like Masatepe, San Juan de la Concepción (Masaya) and El Crucero (Managua) are working. That a boom was generated by this winter's weather was evident, unlike 2015, when the effects of climate change left this economic sector on tenterhooks.
An abundant harvest in Masatepe
Comrade José Salvador Cruz, a Research and Innovation Technician at INTA said that producers are happy with the results this year, and many of them are already raising the harvest, while others have good expectations for the start of 2017.
From Finca Mirasur del Llano farm in Masatepe, where families grow avocado, this specialist explained that the INTA has trained farmers in this part of the country, providing them with adequate and environmentally friendly technology.
"With these producers we have managed to set up testing, validation and biological control to counter the screwworm plague. Producers have been able to confirm to us that the technologies that we have provided them are much cheaper and more environmentally friendly," he said.
Citrus grown using agro-ecological methods
Producers of the San Juan de la Concepción (Masaya) are harvesting oranges, lemons and tangerines, where they are already projecting very good incomes.
INTA engineer, Comrade Claudia Gutierrez Murillo, said that this institution is giving support to citrus growers by teaching them agroecological methods.
He explained that in this regard the INTA recommends producers manage their crops appropriately, thus ensuring the food and nutritional security of the entire family.
"The pests that attack citrus fruits mostrly are the leafminer, aphids; and within the diseases we face are Citrus tristeza; that is why pruning the trees after the harvest, to eradicate any possible outbreak of the disease, is suggested "he said.
Source: el19digital.com