The Del Monte agricultural transnational company might be the only solution to the crisis in the Panamanian banana production. Meanwhile, the unemployed in the sector demand state intervention.
According to Carlos Motta, member of the Democratic Revolutionary Party for the region of Baru, Del Monte's proposal to invest about 126 million dollars to revive cultivation in the district of Baru is the only proposal they have received so far.
Initially planting 3,000 hectares of bananas in four years, as projected by the company, would create the same number of direct jobs and at least 10,000 indirect jobs, said the legislator. Motta gave Telemetro a copy of the company's offer, which calls for similar treatment to their rival, Chiquita Brand, which is based in the north of the country.
Since we don't have laws dictating banana policies, like other countries in the region, the contract would have to receive approval of law, which some voices from the Executive consider a third-world act, he said.
Last week Puerto Armuelles was the scene of violent clashes between unemployed agricultural workers protesting against critical poverty and riot forces.
Residents blocked the InterAmerican Highway, which links Panama with Costa Rica, for six hours and demanded the reactivation of banana production in the area, as it's paralysis causes 70 percent of the unemployment in the area.
"The problem is that the government has taken too long to give concrete answers regarding the entry of Del Monte," said Carlos Smith, one of the protesters.
After last Wednesday's riots, the Minister of the Presidency, Alvaro German, stated he would meet with company executives to receive the formal proposal to reactivate the banana zone of Baru.
According to specialists, if Panama accepts the conditions imposed by Del Monte, this crop would increase by 40 percent in the country, which is currently only growing bananas in less than half of the lands that were historically devoted to this product when the Isthmian nation lead the market in the region.
Source: presna-latina.cu